ROME, May 13 — Coco Gauff continued her strong clay-court run by defeating Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-2 on Monday to reach the quarter-finals of the Italian Open, becoming the youngest player to advance to four WTA 1000 quarter-finals on clay.
ROME, May 13 — Coco Gauff continued her strong clay-court run by defeating Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-2 on Monday to reach the quarter-finals of the Italian Open, becoming the youngest player to advance to four WTA 1000 quarter-finals on clay.
The world No. 3 has now won eight of her last nine matches on outdoor red clay, with her only recent loss coming to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open final.
At just 21, Gauff is the youngest to achieve this milestone since WTA 1000 tournaments were introduced in 2009.
The 2023 US Open champion said she was especially pleased with her forehand during the match against Raducanu.
“Especially on this surface, I think I can do a lot with it,” Gauff said. “With each match, I’m getting more comfortable on clay. I’m really happy with how I played—I felt like I was dictating the match most of the time.”
Gauff also shared that she has been focusing on improving her footwork over the past two weeks as she prepares for the French Open. She previously reached the Roland Garros final in 2022 and was a semi-finalist last year, both times losing to Iga Swiatek.
Gauff will face world No. 7 Mirra Andreeva in the Italian Open quarter-finals on Wednesday. — Reuters
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