Third-seeded American tennis player Coco Gauff pulled off a dramatic comeback Monday at the Italian Open in Rome, rescuing herself from a match point before defeating 18-year-old compatriot Iva Jovic 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 in their Round of 16 clash.
Jovic appeared poised for victory when she broke Gauff’s serve in the second set and stepped up to serve for the match leading 5-3. The teenager reached match point at 40-30, but Gauff managed to stay alive by claiming the next point. After battling through three deuces, Gauff secured the game and began her remarkable turnaround.
The momentum shifted further in Gauff’s favor when the less experienced Jovic required medical attention for a finger injury during a timeout. Gauff capitalized on the situation, forcing a decisive third set that she controlled completely, capturing the final four games consecutively to seal her advancement.
“Honestly on that match point my head was almost to the locker room, to be honest. I was (thinking), ‘Well, I’m going to hear a lot about this one,’” Gauff said with a smile post-match. “Then after, I don’t know, I was able to get through it. I think she maybe dropped a little bit her level when she had the lead. It was able to help me get back into the match.”
Gauff’s victory came through aggressive return play, as she converted eight of 13 break point chances while also capitalizing on Jovic’s 10 double faults throughout the encounter.
In the quarterfinals, Gauff will square off against eighth-seeded Russian Mirra Andreeva, who advanced with a straight-sets triumph over Belgium’s 21st-seeded Elise Mertens, 6-3, 6-3.
Other notable Round of 16 results saw fourth-seeded Polish star Iga Swiatek dominate 15th-seeded Naomi Osaka of Japan 6-2, 6-1. Osaka struggled significantly in the opening set, committing 20 unforced errors that gave Swiatek complete control of the match.
Swiatek’s next challenge will come from fifth-seeded American Jessica Pegula, who advanced by defeating Austria’s Anastasia Potapova 7-6 (6), 6-2.
A compelling quarterfinal matchup will feature two former Rome titlists as second-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and seventh-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine both won in straight sets to set up their encounter.
Rybakina dispatched Czech player Karolina Pliskova in just 58 minutes with a commanding 6-0, 6-2 performance, while Svitolina defeated another Czech competitor, Nikola Bartunkova, 6-2, 6-3.
“We know each other well,” Rybakina said of Svitolina, whom she leads 4-3 overall in their career head-to-head. “I will try to do my best. I’ll try to serve well, stay aggressive as always, recover and hopefully it’s going to go my way.”
The final quarterfinal pairing emerged from a pair of surprising upsets. Unseeded Latvian Jelena Ostapenko overwhelmed 22nd-seeded Russian Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-2, while Romanian 26th seed Sorana Cirstea eliminated Czech 13th seed Linda Noskova 6-2, 6-4.
