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Match details
Fixture: (3) Coco Gauff vs Amanda Anisimova (5)
Date: 20 May 2021
Tournament: Emilia-Romagna Open 2021
Round: Quarterfinals
Venue: Rome, Italy
Category: WTA 250
Surface: Red clay
Prize money: $235,238
Match timing: Approx. 3 pm local time, 1 pm GMT, 9 am EST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Coco Gauff vs Amanda Anisimova preview
Two of the greatest young prospects in women's tennis, Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova, will play each other in the quarterfinals of the Emilia-Romagna Open on Thursday.
Gauff is coming off a semifinal finish in Rome, and she has carried her momentum into this week too. While the 17-year-old scraped past veteran Kaia Kanepi in the first round (needing two tie-breaks), she had a far easier time against home favorite Camila Giorgi in the second.
Gauff defeated Giorgi 6-2, 6-3 in just over an hour, for her sixth win of the season on Italian soil.
Meanwhile Anisimova, who had been struggling to find her consistency at the start of 2021, has shown signs of improvement this week with two impressive wins. The 19-year-old has defeated Jasmine Paolini and qualifier Anna Schmiedlova so far, bringing her win-loss ratio for the season into the positive for the first time (6-5).
Coco Gauff vs Amanda Anisimova head-to-head
Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova have never faced each other on the WTA tour, so their head-to-head is currently tied at 0-0.The two players did, however, meet at the junior 2017 US Open, where Anisimova won in straight sets.
Coco Gauff vs Amanda Anisimova prediction
Coco Gauff enters the match as the favorite on paper, given her recent performances and ranking. But Amanda Anisimova, who has finally got some momentum going, will be looking to make the best of an open draw and play as many matches as possible before the French Open.
Gauff has been struggling with her serve lately, and she will have to be extra careful with the shot on Thursday as her opponent is a strong returner. The 17-year-old will also have to make full use of her anticipation skills if she hopes to defuse Anisimova's aggressive shot-making.
Anisimova on her part has been serving well this week, and will look to continue in the same vein on Thursday. She will also try to dominate the play from the baseline, and use her powerful groundstrokes to regularly hit the ball past her opponent.
That said, there are likely to be quite a few long rallies in this encounter, so Anisimova would have to be careful about keeping her errors under control.
The two teenagers could well manufacture the match of the tournament with their quick-strike offense, relentless defense and sharp angles. But Anisimova is a little more experienced and a little more powerful off the ground, so she might have a slight edge.
Prediction: Amanda Anisimova in three tight sets.
