Gauff downs Andreeva to seal Rome semi-final spot

Gauff, who is into the final four for the third time in Rome, earned a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) victory over her opponent in one hour and 42 minutes.

The American will face either Aryna Sabalenka or Qinwen Zheng for a place in the final, with their match scheduled to take place later on Wednesday.

Gauff opened the first set with a love service game and earned a crucial break in the eighth game, though Andreeva immediately responded.

The fourth seed, however, was able to remain composed to take an early lead, though the pair traded breaks of serve in the second set.

And the match was decided by a tie-break, with Gauff emerging victorious, sealing her progress with a sliced forehand that Andreeva returned long.

"At the end, my defence, it was tough," Gauff said in her on-court interview. "We were both tight in the tie-breaker, it was whoever could make the last ball.

"Today some points weren’t my best, but I still managed to be successful."

Coco into a THIRD Rome semifinalThe fourth seed sees off Mirra Andreeva 6-4, 7-6(5) to book her spot in the final four in the Italian capital.@CocoGauff | #IBI25 pic.twitter.com/kFpwrljKot

— wta (@WTA) May 14, 2025

Gauff's sensational run of form continued against Andreeva, with this her ninth victory in her last 10 matches in a battle between two of tennis' brightest stars.

Indeed, the combined age of Gauff and Andreeva (39 years and 61 days) was the youngest between two quarter-finalists in Rome since Serena Williams and Martina Hingis in 1999 (36 years and 69 days).

Gauff is the fifth-youngest player in the Open Era to make her third semi-final at the Italian Open - older only than Monica Seles, Hingis, Gabriela Sabatini and Chris Evert.