Italian Open: Coco Gauff beats Mirra Andreeva to reach semi-final

ROME: World No. 3 Coco Gauff beats Mirra Andreeva 6-4, 7-6(5) and qualified for the semi-final of the Italian Open here at the Foro Italico Centre Court on Wednesday.

Gauff played aggressively throughout the match and was in a 3-0 head-to-head lead at the start and closed the first set with a 6-4 lead.

Russian Andreeva put in an error-strewn performance in the opener and gave away two breakpoints at 4-3 down, which Gauff converted with a delicate dink at the net.

Gauff started with the same pace in the second set as both tried to take down each other.

Andreeva’s superb drop shot just behind the net from a tight angle allowed her to level at 5-5 in the second set.

After that, Gauff outclassed Andreeva and won the last two points to seal the match.

Gauff, who will take on either world number one Aryna Sabalenka or eighth seed Zheng Qinwen in the last four, has dropped just one set in her five matches at the Italian Open so far.

Coco Gauff has reached the semi-finals in Rome three times in her career.

After the match, she expressed satisfaction with her defence and that they both played a tight match.

Gauff further shared that she gained a lot of confidence heading towards the semis with a hard-fought victory.

“At the end, my defence, it was tough. We were both tight in the tiebreaker, it was whoever could make the last ball,” said Gauff

“Yeah, a lot of confidence heading into the semi-finals. I think today some points weren’t played at my best, but I still managed to be successful.”

Gauff’s win was her ninth in 10 matches, with her only defeat in that run coming at the hands of Sabalenka in the Madrid Open final earlier this month.