Gauff in control from the start in straight-sets win over Raducanu
Playing with uncommon crispness and clarity, No. 4 seed Coco Gauff advanced to the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia for the second straight year.
The 21-year-old American was a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Emma Raducanu in 79 minutes and will meet No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, a straight-sets winner against No. 22 Clara Tauson, on Wednesday.
Gauff holds a 3-0 record against Andreeva, with wins at Roland Garros and the US Open in 2023, and again in Madrid earlier this year.
Gauff is the youngest player to reach four quarterfinals in clay WTA 1000 events since the format introduction in 2009.
The World No. 3, who reached the final in Madrid, has now won eight of nine matches on outdoor red clay. After dropping her opening set to qualifier Victoria Mboko, Gauff has won six consecutive sets in Rome.
Gauff won 39 of her 59 service points and saved all three break points that Raducanu held. Meanwhile, she broke Raducanu’s serve four times. Gauff hit 20 winners, balanced by 19 unforced errors. Raducanu had nine winners and 19 unforced errors.
Afterward, Gauff was especially pleased with her forehand -- which hasn’t always been cooperative.
“I think today [it] was the reason why I won the match,” Gauff told reporters. “Especially on this surface, I think I can do a lot with it.”
Gauff is now 2-0 against Raducanu for her career. Raducanu has a record of 1-7 against Top 5 players in the PIF WTA Rankings.
Gauff’s game started to click in Madrid, where she defeated Top 10 players Iga Swiatek and Andreeva before losing to World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
“It still feels so slow compared to Madrid," Gauff said, "but I’m getting used to it with each match. I feel really happy with how I played. I think I really was the one dictating the match for the most part.”
