Svitolina beats Gauff to claim Italian Open title and signal French Open intent

Elina Svitolina delivered a powerful statement of intent ahead of Roland Garros by overcoming world number four Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 in the Italian Open final on Saturday, securing her first clay court title of the season and her third in Rome.

The victory was all the more significant given that Svitolina also defeated world number two Elena Rybakina and third-ranked Iga Swiatek en route to the title, firmly establishing the Ukrainian seventh seed as one of the favourites to claim a maiden Grand Slam crown when the French Open main draw gets underway on May 24.

Svitolina shines through in Rome

The triumph in the Italian capital comes eight years after her previous back-to-back successes at the Foro Italico, a period that included a maternity break during which she welcomed a daughter with fellow professional Gael Monfils in late 2022.

"It's hard to believe it's been eight years since I had this trophy here," Svitolina said. "I'm very pleased with my two weeks here. Congratulations to Coco for a great tournament. You're such a great champion, and I hope we can have more battles in the future."

The 31-year-old twice recovered from a break down to level the opening set at 4-4, before a pair of costly double faults from Gauff handed Svitolina the first set.

She continued to press in the second, inching close to the title, only for Gauff to hold firm until 5-5 before snatching the lead with a sharp reflex volley after a netcord scrambled Svitolina's return. Svitolina broke back immediately, but Gauff raised her level in the tiebreak to force a decider.

The deciding set remained closely contested through the opening four games before a Gauff backhand error allowed Svitolina to break in the fifth. She compounded the advantage with a second break shortly after and ultimately held her nerve to seal victory on her third match point.

After collecting the trophy, Svitolina took a moment to dedicate the win to those back home amid the ongoing war in Ukraine following Russia's 2022 invasion.

"Many of them are in bomb shelters and it's been really heavy in the past couple of weeks for Ukraine," she said. "I want to thank you for all the support from afar, I feel all the love."

French Open Picture Becoming More Interesting

For reigning Roland Garros champion Gauff, the defeat extended a difficult run against Svitolina, who has now beaten her in three consecutive meetings following wins at the Australian Open quarter-finals and Dubai semi-finals earlier this year.

"Another tough battle between us. I'm on the other side but hopefully one of these days I can get over that," Gauff said. "You had an incredible tournament with a lot of long matches against great players, so congratulations to you and your team. Hopefully I'll see you at the French Open, in the final."

SportsLigue