Gauff edges Andreeva in tense finish to return to the Rome semifinals

Coco Gauff understands what it’s like to be a young phenom -- she was once one herself. At the age of 21, the argument can be made that Gauff still is.

Gauff, who has been scoring upsets and setting precedents for years, is keenly aware of her place in the game, the expectations for greatness. Maybe that’s why she’s been so hard on those emerging young players who might think of challenging her.

Continuing her mastery over 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, Gauff advanced to the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) statement victory. It was her fourth win over the rising, already-Top 10 star in four chances. Gauff is now an impressive 11-1 against players younger than she is.

“Honestly I don’t think about the head-to-head so much,” Gauff said in her post-match press conference. “Especially when you’re playing someone younger, you know that they can improve so much in a little bit of time.

“I mean, I think about my game compared to when I was her age to now, it’s a lot different. At the same time when I go on court, I treat each match like a new match and expect her to be better than the last time we played.”

On Thursday, Gauff will play the winner of the later match between No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 8 Zheng Qinwen. The other semifinal pits Jasmine Paolini against Peyton Stearns.

“I’m feeling really good -- and I feel I have a lot to improve on, too,” Gauff said. “When you’re winning matches and you still feel like you have a whole ceiling to reach, it just makes you feel good.”

Here’s a bracing fact: Gauff is Rome’s youngest three-time semifinalist since Martina Hingis in 1999. Gauff is the fifth youngest player in the Open Era to make her third final four -- older only than Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Gabriela Sabatini and Chris Evert.

Gauff has now won nine of her past 10 matches.

These two players are likely to be linked for another decade.

Afterward, when a reporter began citing her accomplishments, Gauff laughed.

“No,” she said, “I don’t think about it like that. Whenever you’re in these interviews [hearing the accolades], it makes me feel good about myself. But, yeah, for me it’s just trying to improve each year.

I’ve lost in the semis here a few times, so I’m hoping to get through to the final stage.”

Gauff, who will be No. 2 in the PIF WTA Rankings next week, and Andreeva (No. 6) are the two youngest players in the Top 10. Andreeva was the youngest player to reach the quarterfinals at the Italian Open since -- Gauff in 2021.

The tiebreak was scintillating stuff. Gauff hit a marvelous slice forehand to take a 4-3 lead, but Andreeva answered with a drop shot for the ages to make it 5-all. In the end, two errant backhands were Andreeva’s undoing.

“At the end, my defense, it was tough,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “We were both tight in the tiebreaker, it was whoever could make the last ball.

“Today some points weren’t my best, but still managed to be successful.”

Andreeva has already displayed an uncanny ability to defuse the power game of the Hologic WTA Tour’s best players. She won the title in Dubai in February and then came back to win a second consecutive WTA 1000 in Indian Wells, beating the Nos. 1 and 2 players in the last two rounds.

Gauff, however, presents a different problem. Because she is such a good defensive player, Andreeva sometimes has to create her own power -- and play an uncomfortably aggressive game to end points. Her frustration could be seen in the first set, with Gauff serving at 3-all, when another long rally ended with a forehand in the net. Andreeva hurled her racquet into the dirt and offered a dismissive wave to her team.

The tension built and Gauff followed with the first break of the match. But Andreeva, playing with determination, broke right back. Gauff, keeping the pressure on, broke again when Andreeva dropped another forehand into the net.

It was Gauff’s seventh straight set against Andreeva.

The second set featured four service breaks in the first six games, but both players eventually found rhythm on serve -- and the set moved toward a dramatic tiebreak. Make that eight.

“I think she tried to be more aggressive today,” Gauff said. “When you play someone so soon, it’s difficult I think because you know that they’re probably not going to play you the same as last time.

“You want to play the same because it worked for you. You know they’re expecting that. For me I think it was just trying to feel it out during the match.”