American third seed Coco Gauff booked her place in a second successive Italian Open final on Thursday after defeating Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3 in a composed semi-final performance in Rome.
The victory secured another WTA 1000 final appearance for the 22-year-old, who earlier this year finished runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka at the Miami Open.
Gauff endured a difficult start against the experienced Romanian as Cirstea opened a 4-2 advantage in the first set. However, the world number four quickly regained control, responding with four consecutive games to overturn the deficit and claim the opening set.
The second set was briefly halted after a spectator in the crowd required medical attention, temporarily interrupting the rhythm of the contest. Gauff nevertheless maintained her concentration and continued to dictate play.
Although she twice surrendered service breaks after moving ahead, the American eventually produced the decisive breakthrough in the eighth game before serving out the match comfortably in just over an hour.
The straight-sets victory also brought relief for Gauff after a physically demanding route to the semi-finals. She had survived three consecutive three-set encounters earlier in the tournament, including a difficult battle against fellow American Iva Jovic.
For Cirstea, who has indicated plans to retire later this year, the defeat ended an impressive campaign highlighted by one of the tournament’s biggest upsets after eliminating world number one Sabalenka in the third round.
Thursday’s result marked Gauff’s third victory over the 36-year-old Romanian this season, following earlier wins in Miami and Madrid.
“I think I learned a little bit more from each match,” Gauff said during her on-court interview.
“Those are the matches you get through. I’m really grateful to be in the final.”
Gauff will now attempt to go one step further than last year, when she lost in the Italian Open final to Jasmine Paolini.
She awaits the winner of the second semi-final between five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek and seventh seed Elina Svitolina.