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Coco Gauff survived a stern test from Zheng Qinwen to reach the final of the Italian Open 2025. The young American won their semifinal showdown 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (4) in 3 hours and 32 minutes on Thursday, May 15. It was the longest match of her career as well as on the women's tour this year.
Despite the match finishing after midnight, Gauff showed up for her post-match conference. She was asked to give her thoughts on her gritty win over Zheng, among other things. The 21-year-old attributed their lengthy battle on account of the court being slow and the balls being too heavy after a couple of games.
"Honestly, the whole match for me the court was so slow. Especially when the ball after like two games, they're so heavy. This was my second night match. My first one was first round. I was playing someone completely different game style. Yeah, it was tough," Gauff said.
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Gauff felt that both her and Zheng had a tough time getting anything past each other. She recalled their previous duel at the WTA Finals 2024 in Riyadh, which also went for over three hours, though they were more aggressive with their shotmaking back then. Considering the final will be played earlier in the day, she's hopeful that the conditions will be faster.
"I think we're both struggling trying to hit through each other. I think in Riyadh we had a little bit more winners, aggressiveness. Today we were trying, but the ball wasn't going anywhere. Yeah, the final I think is a little bit in the day, so hopefully it's a little bit faster," she said.
Alexander Zverev had similar thoughts regarding the balls being used at the Italian Open. However, he wasn't as careful with his choice of words and went on a rant about the same in the middle of his match against Lorenzo Musetti.
Circling back to Gauff, she will take on home favorite Jasmine Paolini in the championship round. The latter beat Peyton Stearns 7-5, 6-1 to reach her first final at the venue.
Coco Gauff bidding to become the first American woman to win the Italian Open since Serena Williams in 2016
Coco Gauff could become the first American woman to win the Italian Open since Serena Williams won the title in 2016. The 23-time Major champion beat Madison Keys in an all-American showdown in 2016 to claim her fourth and final title in Rome.
Gauff previously faltered in the semifinals of the Italian Open on two occasions, going down to Iga Swiatek in 2021 and 2024. With the most dominant player on clay in recent times out of her way, she will be keen to claim the title this time.
However, Jasmine Paolini is no less of a threat. After losing her first couple of matches against Gauff, she recently beat her in Stuttgart, their very first match on clay. She also beat the American a few days ago in the doubles quarterfinals here.
Paolini and Gauff also faced off for the Italian Open doubles title last year, with the former coming out on top. However, the 21-year-old avenged that loss in the French Open doubles final a few weeks later. She will aim to repeat the feat to secure her first title in Rome.
