Rome, May 17 (IANS) Seventh seed Elina Svitolina battled past third seed Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2 after two hours and 49 minutes in the women’s singles final, capturing her third Italian Open title on Saturday.

Svitolina advanced to the final after defeating second seed Elena Rybakina and fourth seed Iga Swiatek in consecutive rounds. Facing last year’s runner-up Gauff, the Ukrainian found herself under pressure early and trailed 4-2 in the opening set.

The turning point came in the eighth game, when Gauff double-faulted twice after building a 40-0 lead, allowing Svitolina to break back. The Ukrainian then saved three break points in the ninth game to hold serve before taking the set 6-4, reported Xinhua.

The second set turned into a tight battle. Gauff earned a crucial break in the 11th game, but Svitolina broke back immediately when the American served for the set, forcing a tiebreak. Gauff raised her level in the tiebreak and claimed it 7-3 to level the match at one set apiece.

Svitolina regained control in the deciding set by breaking in the fifth and seventh games. Serving for the championship, she saved three break points before sealing victory with a backhand volley. The triumph marked her third singles title in Rome and the 20th WTA singles title of her career.

“Definitely [it] was an extremely tough battle,” Svitolina said after the match, adding that she was pleased with the way she handled nerves throughout the tournament.

In the men’s draw, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner completed his rain-suspended semifinal against seventh seed Daniil Medvedev on Saturday, winning 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 to reach Sunday’s final, where he will face 23rd seed Casper Ruud.

–IANS

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