By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday May 15, 2025
Coco Gauff edged Zheng Qinwen to become the youngest player to reach the Madrid and Rome finals in the same year.
Photo Source: TC
Thursday night’s semifinal between Zheng Qinwen and Coco Gauff in Rome was all about guts. Both players had plenty – but Gauff had a little more, when it counted most.
The American topped last year’s Olympic gold medalist in a seesaw battle that featured off-the-charts physicality in cool, slow-playing conditions on Campo Centrale in Rome, 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(4), to reach her maiden Rome final. With the win Gauff becomes the youngest player to reach the Madrid and Rome finals in the same season.
She will bid for her second and biggest clay-court title on Saturday against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.
The 21-year-old American had fallen short twice in the semifinals at Rome, but would not be denied on Thursday as she improved to 3-0 lifetime against Zheng by twice rallying from a break down in the third set.
“Oh God, it means a lot,” Gauff told the crowd after the match, which ended well after midnight. “Third time’s a charm.”
There was a stretch of 13 consecutive games featuring a break point in a wild encounter that also included a total of 44 break points and 19 break point conversions. Gauff hit 27 winners to 22 for Zheng, and won just over 50 percent of her service points, but she did win eight consecutive points on serve to level the final set at five-all and to force a tiebreaker in the next game.
In a match of thin margins and a lot of neutral ball rallies, Gauff’s mental toughness and positivity guided her through the crucial moments, and she was the better player in the first and third set tiebreaks as well.
Gauff rallied from a break down twice in the opening set as well, and Zheng will lament the fact that she served for all three sets, but was only able to capture the middle set.
The Chinese, fresh off her second career win over a reigning World No.1 on Wednesday, when she took out Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals, got the better of Gauff in a frantic middle set, but she failed to serve it out, and ended up breaking Gauff in the tenth game to force a decider.
In the end it was gritty Gauff in a photo finish, adding another chapter to her ever growing book on how to “win ugly.”
The American, who will rise to match her career-high ranking of No.2 on Monday, owns a 2-1 head-to-head record against Paolini, but lost their last meeting on the red clay of Stuttgart in April.
Gauff improves to 17-5 lifetime at the Foro Italico, and 24-7 in 2025. She will be bidding for her second title of the season, and 11th overall.