American tennis sensation Coco Gauff delivered a dominant performance on Monday, defeating Britain’s Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Italian Open.
The No. 4 seed needed just 79 minutes to close out the match, dropping only three games in a confident display on the clay courts of Rome.
At just 21 years old, Gauff has now become the youngest player to reach four WTA 1000 clay-court quarterfinals since the format’s introduction in 2009—an impressive milestone that highlights her growing prowess on the surface.
Next up, Gauff will face world No. 7 Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday. The 18-year-old Russian earned her spot in the final eight after a hard-fought three-set comeback win over Clara Tauson.
With the French Open on the horizon, Gauff’s current form couldn’t be more promising. She has won eight of her last nine matches on clay, with her sole loss coming in the Madrid Open final to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Following her win over Raducanu, Gauff revealed she has been honing her footwork in preparation for Roland Garros and pointed to her improved forehand—an area that had been inconsistent—as a key to her success.
“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.”
From the first serve on Campo Centrale, Gauff controlled the tempo. She won 39 of her 59 service points and broke Raducanu four times, never allowing the Brit to find her rhythm.
Adapting to the slower conditions in Rome hasn’t been without challenges, Gauff admitted, but she feels she’s hitting her stride.
“It still feels so slow compared to Madrid,” she said. “But I’m getting used to it with each match. I feel really happy with how I played. I think I was really the one dictating the match for the most part.”
In other action on Monday, Aryna Sabalenka overcame a spirited challenge from Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, winning 6-1, 7-6(8) in two hours and five minutes to also secure a spot in the quarterfinals.