“It Wasn’t My Best Level at All,” Coco Gauff Gets Brutally Honest After Edging Past Qinwen Zheng in the Semi-Finals in Rome

Coco Gauff triumphed over Qinwen Zheng in the longest match of her career to reach the final of the Italian Open for the first time in her career. She became the first American to do so since Serena Williams in 2016. However, she was not very pleased with her performance against the Chinese after the win.

Gauff had been to two semi-finals in Rome in her career and got to her third after beating Mirra Andreeva in three sets. The World No.2 had reached the stage last year but lost to Iga Swiatek in straight sets.

She was bent on getting past the last four ahead of her meeting with Zheng. The 22-year-old was aiming to reach the final for the first time in her career and become the first Chinese to play for the title since Li Na in 2012.

The match kicked off as expected on Thursday (April 15), with both players chasing every point in the match, but they conceded unnecessary unforced errors. In fact, Gauff tallied 16 double faults and a mind-blowing 82 unforced errors, while Zheng sprayed 74 unforced errors in the match.

Nonetheless, Gauff found a way to topple Zheng in the first set after a tiebreak, but the Chinese star rallied back into the match, winning the second set 6-4. The World No.8 continued with the momentum in the deciding set, led Gauff 5-3, and was two points away from claiming the victory, but some unavoidable errors allowed the American to level with ease.

During the tiebreak, Zheng’s accuracy began to fade, while Gauff tried to drag herself into the lead. She came out on top in the marathon to win the match 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(4) in three hours and thirty minutes at the Foro Italico. After the victory, Gauff was brutally honest with her performance, admitting she wasn’t at her best:

I was just trying to go for every point. I knew before it was going to be a physical match. The last time we played was over three hours. Overall, I'm just happy. It wasn't my best level at all, to be honest. Just happy to get through it and through to another final. The whole match, for me, the court was so slow. Especially when the ball after like two games, they're so heavy.

Gauff will face Jasmine Paolini in the final of the Italian Open. Gauff has a slight advantage over the Italian as she holds a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head record, while Paolini will be heavily supported by the home crowd.

Coco Gauff blames court conditions and ball for struggles against Qinwen Zheng

Alexander Zverev first raised questions about the quality of the tennis balls used at the Italian Open. Other players have argued that the windy conditions and the clay court didn’t allow them to play at their best level. Coco Gauff revealed after the match that the aforementioned issues played a vital role in her struggle against Qinwen Zheng in the semi-final:

Especially when the ball after like two games, they're so heavy. This was my second night match. My first one was first round. I was playing someone completely different game style. Yeah, it was tough. I think we're both struggling trying to hit through each other. I think in Riyadh we had a little bit more winners, aggressiveness. Today we were trying, but the ball wasn't going anywhere.

Gauff extended her head-to-head record against Qinwen Zheng to 3-0 after winning on Thursday (May 15). The match finished at midnight in Rome. It might affect Gauff in the final against Jasmine Paolini, who played in the early afternoon and would likely recover better before Saturday (May 17).

Also Read: Jannik Sinner Makes ‘Never Forget’ Admission After Meeting Pope XIV with Parents During Italian Open Campaign

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW