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Elina Svitolina got the upper hand on Coco Gauff once again in 2026 to claim a third Italian Open triumph on Saturday.
Svitolina had already knocked Gauff out of the Australian Open and Dubai Tennis Championships this year and immediately exerted her dominance when she took the first set in Rome.
World number four Gauff roared back to edge a close second on a tie-breaker before the third went the way of the Ukrainian after a sensational backhand in the seventh game helped her further edge in front on the way to a 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 victory.
A sign of things to come occurred in set one when five breaks were exchanged, but seventh seed Svitolina moved in front.
Multiple break points were saved in a second set which eventually went to a tie-break and Gauff held her nerve to set up a finale.
In a gruelling decider, Svitolina secured two breaks – including after a supreme seventh game rally – to celebrate victory in two hours and 49 minutes. The French Open, also on clay, begins next weekend.
Earlier in the day, Jannik Sinner stayed on track for a career Golden Masters after he got the better of Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 on home soil.
Bad weather meant the semi-final had been rolled over to Saturday in the third set and even though Sinner squandered two match points on Medvedev’s serve, the world number one held his nerve on his next chance to go through to a maiden Italian Open final.
Sinner will face Casper Ruud on Sunday and attempt to win a sixth successive ATP 1,000 event, but also the ninth and final Masters tournament on the tour for a Golden Masters sweep.
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Svitolina had already knocked Gauff out of the Australian Open and Dubai Tennis Championships this year and immediately exerted her dominance when she took the first set in Rome.
World number four Gauff roared back to edge a close second on a tie-breaker before the third went the way of the Ukrainian after a sensational backhand in the seventh game helped her further edge in front on the way to a 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 victory.
A sign of things to come occurred in set one when five breaks were exchanged, but seventh seed Svitolina moved in front.
Multiple break points were saved in a second set which eventually went to a tie-break and Gauff held her nerve to set up a finale.
In a gruelling decider, Svitolina secured two breaks – including after a supreme seventh game rally – to celebrate victory in two hours and 49 minutes. The French Open, also on clay, begins next weekend.
Earlier in the day, Jannik Sinner stayed on track for a career Golden Masters after he got the better of Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 on home soil.
Bad weather meant the semi-final had been rolled over to Saturday in the third set and even though Sinner squandered two match points on Medvedev’s serve, the world number one held his nerve on his next chance to go through to a maiden Italian Open final.
Sinner will face Casper Ruud on Sunday and attempt to win a sixth successive ATP 1,000 event, but also the ninth and final Masters tournament on the tour for a Golden Masters sweep.
Continue reading...
