Elina Svitolina fends off battling Coco Gauff to win third Italian Open title

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/gauff-c-f5BXmEH6/svitolina-e-jyngIesG/?mid=hj88rrLj"]Victory over the American[/a] followed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/monfils-elina/jyngIesG/"]Svitolina[/a]'s wins over world ‌number two [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rybakina-elena/UDzElXdm/"]Elena Rybakina[/a] and third-ranked [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/swiatek-iga/jNyZsXZe/"]Iga Swiatek[/a], making her a strong contender to claim a maiden Grand ‌Slam title in Paris, where the main draw begins on May 24th.[/p][p]Svitolina's third title ‌in the Italian capital comes eight years after her second successive triumph at the Foro Italico, ‌a spell that included a maternity break in which she gave birth to ‌her daughter with fellow player [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/monfils-gael/fm7G8o0m/"]Gael Monfils[/a] in late 2022.[/p][p]"[b]It's hard to believe it's been eight years since I had this trophy here[/b]," Svitolina said.[/p][p]"[b]I'm very pleased with my two weeks here. Congratulations to Coco ‌for a great tournament. You're such a great champion, and ⁠I hope we can have more battles ‌in the future[/b]."[/p][embed guid="3581c445-4caf-435d-ae9a-768e6ddb303f" url="https://x.com/WTA/status/2055726056456204753" social-type="twitter" /][p]Sevent seed Svitolina twice ‌battled from a break down to level a tight ‌first set at 4-4, and the Ukrainian ‌held on under huge pressure during exhausting rallies to get ahead in the ninth game with some ‌powerful hitting.[/p][p]A couple of untimely double ⁠faults from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gauff-coco/f5BXmEH6/"]Gauff[/a]'s ‌racket in the next game gifted Svitolina the opening ​set, and the 31-year-old dialled up the intensity late in the next set ​to go within touching distance of a third Rome title.[/p][p]Gauff, the reigning Roland Garros champion, held ⁠on bravely until ​5-5 in the second set and then broke with a reflex volley at the net after a shot that clipped the netcord unsettled ‌Svitolina and forced her into making a flat return.[/p][image alt="Gauff with her runner-up trophy" id="51792233-8c1e-4c66-8f01-15a12ff38d65" credit-line="REUTERS / Claudia Greco" guid="beec31c6-bd26-4d57-99bb-a7a060b8618e" original-width="2835" original-height="2206" /][p]That joy was short-lived as Svitolina broke back immediately, but Gauff raised her game in the tiebreak to drag the match into a deciding set, where there was little to separate the duo after the opening four games.[/p][p]A backhand error from Gauff meant Svitolina sealed a vital ‌break in the fifth game, and the ​Ukrainian pounced again for a double break, ‌before holding her nerve in a tense finish to secure victory on her third matchpoint.[/p][h2]Svitolina thanks Ukrainians[/h2][p]Svitolina later thanked Ukrainians back home as the country continues to grapple with war following Russia's 2022 invasion.[/p][p]"[b]Many of them are in bomb shelters and it's been ‌really heavy in the past couple of weeks for Ukraine[/b]," she added.[/p][p]"I want to thank ​you for all the support from afar, I feel all the love."[/p][embed guid="8b3ef15f-e2b2-460a-b4be-67cefab29e58" url="https://x.com/TennisChannel/status/2055731334077628572" social-type="twitter" /][p]A distraught ‌Gauff was left to digest her third straight defeat by Svitolina, following losses in the Australian Open quarter-finals and Dubai semi-finals this year.[/p][p]"[b]Another tough battle between us. I'm on the other side but hopefully one of these days I can get over that[/b]," Gauff said.[/p][p]"You had an incredible tournament with a lot of long matches ⁠against great players, so congratulations to you ⁠and your team.[/p][p]"[b]Hopefully I'll see you ‌at the French Open, in the final[/b]."[/p][embed guid="4742ba16-b237-4594-be0c-cf9a3be12ec2" url="https://x.com/TennisChannel/status/2055729902482059669" social-type="twitter" /]