American teenager Coco Gauff took on Greek tennis player Maria Sakkari in the Round of 32 matches at the Italian Open 2021. It was their third meeting, with the previous two encounters being won by Sakkari.

This time around, it went Gauff’s way as she won 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 in a match that lasted 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Set 1: Coco Gauff sweeps past Maria Sakkari with ease

In the opening set, Coco Gauff served brilliantly and used her service as a weapon. She won over 80% of her first-serve points, which gave her the advantage early on. To make matters worse for her opponent, Gauff claimed two of the four break points she’d earned.

Shortly into the match, Coco saw herself sitting on a healthy lead. After winning 29 points as compared to Sakkari’s 19 points, Gauff sealed the first set 6-1.

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Set 2: Maria Sakkari fights back to hang in the contest

In the following set, Maria Sakkari took control after raising her level. She brushed aside the horror of the previous set and upped the ante. Although the Greek player was handed a break, she broke Coco in three out of the four service games, giving her a lifeline to hang in the match.

Sakkari won 32 points in the second set, whereas her opponent won 21 points, which eventually gave her the advantage to seal the set in her favor. In the set, Maria won close to 77% of her first serve points, and Gauff managed to win only 52.6% of her first serve points. After 70 mins into the match, Sakkari took the match into a deciding set, winning the second set 6-1.

Set 3: Coco Gauff regains composure to emerge victoriously

As the final set began, Gauff regained focus and brushed aside the result of the previous set. Although her opponent registered better serves than her, it was the young American player who caused real damage, winning 70% of her second service points. 

On the other hand, Sakkari served poorly, which gave her opponent the green signal to take risks and return strongly. Eventually, after close to two hours, it was the teenager who won the set 6-1. 

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The American youngster will now face the winner of the match between Aryna Sabalenka and Sara Sorribes Tormo in the Round of 16 matches. It will be interesting to see how deep the teenager goes.