Rome Open: Coco Gauff not scared of passionate home support for Paolini as they meet in the final
Tennis star Coco Gauff expects two things heading into the Rome Open final: Jasmine Paolini will play great tennis and receive strong support from the local crowd.
On Thursday, top-ranked Italian female tennis player Paolini overcame Peyton Stearns 7-5, 6-1 to become the first local woman to reach a Rome final since Sara Errani in 2014.
In the evening, the American and Zheng Qinwen played a three-and-a-half-hour marathon, in which the 21-year-old ended on the winning side 7-6 (3) 4-6 7-6 (4).
Now, Gauff and Paolini are set to meet for the fourth time. Their first two battles came on hard, and the American won them. However, their third clash came on clay at the start of the clay season in Stuttgart and the Italian registered her first win 6-4 6-3.
It is not a secret that the Rome crowd is one of the loudest and most passionate. And the 2023 US Open champion seems to be well aware of that.
"Yeah, that was a tough match. She played well. She's a tough opponent. I think especially here with the home crowd behind her, she's going to be playing some great tennis. I have to expect that. Hopefully, I can bring a better level and win the title. If not, I'm proud just really of this match, too," the American said ahead of her final against the home player.
After beating Zheng in the evening session, Gauff said the conditions felt very slow. And she admits she is happy that her Rome final match will take place during the day.
"The final, I think, is a little bit in the day, so hopefully it's a little bit faster," the 21-year-old noted.
If Gauff beats Paolini, she will claim her first WTA 1000 clay title. Earlier this week, the American said her goal was to get "a big clay title."
