ROME — Elina Svitolina won her third Italian Open title on Saturday, defeating Coco Gauff, who she lost to in the final for the second consecutive year in Rome.
Svitolina won 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 in nearly three hours to win her first WTA 1000 title since winning the title in Rome in 2018. The Ukrainian also won in 2017.
“I can’t believe it’s been eight years since I was here with this trophy. Of course I’m very, very, very happy with the two weeks here,” Svitolina said on court after winning her 20th career title.
“I told my coach that it would be nice to get a round number before the end of my career, and he said he hopes I can get it this year. So I’m very, very happy.”
Gauff had hoped to become the first American to win in Rome since 2016, but she won the French Open last year despite losing to Jasmine Paolini.
“It’s been a great two weeks…I’m definitely feeling the momentum going into Roland Garros,” Gauff said. “I learned a lot from this match.”
Gauff got off to a great start, defeating Svitolina and sticking to Love. She had chances to take a 5-2 lead, but Svitolina fended off three break points and won four games in a row to open the match.
Gauff, ranked third in the rankings, struggled with her serve throughout the second set, but managed to force a tiebreak and level the match.
However, Svitolina dominated the deciding match, breaking Gauff’s serve twice and keeping her serve for the title. World No. 7 Svitolina sealed the result with a volley at the net on her third match point.
