ROME (AP) — Elina Svitolina claimed a third Italian Open title on Saturday by beating Coco Gauff, who lost in the final in Rome for the second straight year.
Svitolina took nearly three hours to prevail 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2 and win her first WTA 1000 title since lifting the title in Rome in 2018. The Ukrainian also won the Italian Open in 2017.
Gauff, who was hoping to become the first American to win in Rome since 2016, lost to Jasmine Paolini last year but went on to win the French Open.
Gauff started brilliantly on Saturday, breaking Svitolina and holding to love. She also had the chance to go 5-2 up in the first set but Svitolina fended off three break points and won four straight games to take the opener.
The third-ranked Gauff struggled on her serve throughout the second set but managed to take it to a tiebreak and level the match.
However, Svitolina dominated the decider and broke Gauff’s serve twice to leave her serving for the title. The seventh-ranked Svitolina sealed the result on her third match point with a volley at the net.
