Gauff bounces back to qualify for Italian Open quarterfinals

Coco Gauff survived a major scare at the Italian Open, coming from a set down and saving a match point to beat Iva Jovic 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 and reach the quarterfinals in Rome.

Most of the game went on Jovic’s terms. The 18-year-old attacked with great passion from both wings, stepped into second serves, and forced Gauff into rushed exchanges from the baseline. 

That approach paid off in the opening set, where Jovic consistently found sharp angles and kept the defending champion reacting rather than dictating.

Gauff struggled to settle early, particularly on serve, and Jovic took advantage. 

The teenager closed out the first set in 52 minutes, leaving the world number three facing the possibility of an early exit from one of the final major clay-court stops before Roland Garros.

The second set became much tighter, with both players trading breaks as the pace shifted repeatedly, but Jovic still moved within touching distance of the biggest win of her career when she served for the match at 5-4. 

She even held a match point before Gauff steadied herself, forcing errors at the right moments to break back.

That escape changed the tone of the contest. Gauff held for 6-5, then tightened up the final exchanges of the set to force a decider, suddenly pushing the heat back onto Jovic after spending most of the afternoon chasing the match.

The difference in the third set was control, as Gauff cleaned up her movement, became more compact around the baseline, and started taking charge of the shorter rallies instead of scrambling through them. 

Jovic’s error count climbed as the rallies stretched, while Gauff’s first serve gave her more free points and easier holds.

An early break allowed Gauff to settle, and from there she never really let the match drift back into danger. 

She stretched the lead steadily before closing out the final set 6-2 after just under two and a half hours on court.

The win keeps Gauff’s title defence alive and continues a week in Rome, where she has already had to recover from difficult positions more than once.