Elina Svitolina beats Coco Gauff for third time in a row to claim Italian Open title
Elina Svitolina has Coco Gauff’s number. Svitolina knocked off Gauff for the third consecutive time this season Saturday in Rome, with a 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 win that saw her lift the Italian Open for a third time. “Hard to believe it’s been eight years since I’ve held this trophy,” said Svitolina, who last won in the tournament in 2018.
Her win marked a second consecutive triumph for women from Ukraine at WTA 1000 level, the rung below the Grand Slams. Marta Kostyuk won the Madrid Open at the start
Elina Svitolina has Coco Gauff’ s number. Svitolina knocked off Gauff for the third consecutive time this season Saturday in Rome, with a 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 win that saw her lift the Italian Open for a third time. “Hard to believe it’s been eight years since I’ve held this trophy,” said Svitolina, who last won in the tournament in 2018.
Her win marked a second consecutive triumph for women from Ukraine at WTA 1000 level, the rung below the Grand Slams. Marta Kostyuk won the Madrid Open at the start of May, defeating Mirra Andreeva of Russia in the final. Svitolina thanked all the home fans who watched her from her home country the past two weeks.
“I feel all the love,” she said. Gauff, playing in her second consecutive Italian Open final, appeared in control of the match in the first set, leading 4-2 with chances to go up by two breaks of serve. But she couldn’t get the clinching shot, and Svitolina got through four consecutive games to take the first set.