Coco Gauff Makes Feelings Known About Carlos Alcaraz’s Comment on Needing Jannik Sinner to Improve Himself
Coco Gauff is searching for her first title of the season and has moved into the quarterfinals after beating Emma Raducanu.
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Jannik Sinner, Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Jannik Sinner, The Tennis Letter, Carlos Alcaraz Brasil)
Coco Gauff inched closer to the Italian Open title. On Monday (May 12), she breezed past Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-2 to secure a berth in the quarterfinals.
Following the match, Gauff commented on Carlos Alcaraz‘s remark about needing his biggest rival Jannik Sinner on the tour to keep producing a high level of tennis consistently. Alcaraz said that the competition from Sinner is important for him as it keeps him motivated.
Definitely, it’s super important. I can definitely agree with that. But honestly, especially on the women’s side of the game, I feel like there’s so much depth so it’s not only just the top three players. Every match is someone pushing you to be better and when you’re at the top, people tend to play better against a higher-ranked player.
Coco Gauff told Tennis Channel
Sinner was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) because of the ignorance of his team members as the banned anabolic steroid clostebol entered his system during physiotherapy sessions. Due to the ban, Sinner is playing only his second tournament of the season in Rome, following the Australian Open, which he won by powering past Alexander Zverev.
In Rome, after toppling Mariano Navone on his comeback win, the 23-year-old knocked out Jesper de Jong, securing a berth in the fourth round to set up his career’s fifth clash with Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo. It was Cerundolo who, in the fourth round in Rome back in 2023, ended Sinner’s run.
The three-time Grand Slam champion is chasing his first title in his home tournament and produced his best in 2022 when he progressed to the quarterfinals (lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas). The World No.1 skipped the Italian Masters 1000 last year due to an injury.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, defeated two Serbian aces, Dusan Lajovic, and Laslo Djere to set up a slash with Karen Khachanov. The Spaniard too, hasn’t yet claimed a title in the last Masters 1000 event of the European clay swing. He is chasing his third title of the season following the Rotterdam Open and the Monte Carlo Masters. Alcaraz could set up a clash with Sinner if both of them reach the final.
Emma Raducanu says she was outplayed by Coco Gauff
Emma Raducanu registered her second defeat against Coco Gauff in Rome. The Brit entered the Italian capital after her second-round defeat in Madrid. She made her second appearance in the tournament and lost her opening-round match in 2022. Radcuanu produced her second-best performance this season following the Miami Open, where she made it to the quarterfinals.
It was also her best performance since her fairy tale run at the 2021 US Open. Following her defeat to Gauff, Raducanu made her feelings known on her exit.
Coco also played a really good match and I definitely saw why she is number two in the world right now. She played really well. I definitely thought I got outplayed today but I guess I have no shame in saying that and I am looking forward to trying to work to get better.
Emma Raducanu told Sky Sports
Gauff has now scheduled a quarterfinal match against Mirra Andreeva, who came from a set down to knock out Clara Tauson. The 21-year-old has won all the three matches she played against the Russian teenager.
The upcoming match will be their second encounter on the tour following the Madrid Open quarterfinals. While Andreeva lifted two WTA 1000 tournaments this season, Gauff produced her best performance when she reached the final in Madrid.
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