Facing linette

Italian Open: Last time out against Magda Linette in Miami, Coco Gauff lost to the Pole for the first time in three career meetings but the American restored order with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Linette in the third round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia on Sunday.

Facing Linette on a surface other than hard courts for the first time, Gauff came through a tight first set and a nervy finish to advance to the fourth round in Rome for the third time in her career where she'll face Emma Raducanu in a match of US Open winners up next, as the 2021 New York champion rallied from a set behind to defeat Veronika Kudermetova in her own third-round match.

There was little to separate the two players in the first set, in part because the World No. 4 was unable to get her game going consistently despite taking an early lead. The two players combined for 40 unforced errors in the first set, with Gauff hitting 24 to just nine winners.