It looks like the finals heartbreak is refusing to stop for Coco Gauff. Earlier this month, she went down fighting against Aryna Sabalenka in the summit clash of the Madrid Open. A couple of weeks later, the American sensation finds herself in a similar spot as she lost against the home favorite, Jasmine Paolini, in the summit clash of the Italian Open. It was another heartbreaking end to a wonderful campaign for Gauff as she failed to clear the final hurdle. With the French Open not very far away, Gauff received some stern advice from tennis legends Andy Roddick and Jim Courier.

Gauff is one of the hot favorites to win the title at Roland Garros despite suffering two back-to-back final defeats. However, winning when it comes to the big moments is something that’s lacking from her game right now, something which was highlighted by Courier and Roddick. The duo appeared during the post-match show on Tennis Channel, where they discussed what went wrong for Gauff.

Praising Paolini for exposing Gauff’s backhand, Roddick said, “She was very very good, creating space to the forehand, and only then attacking the backhand side, when she created that massive amount of space. Coco did not get a lot of those rallies backhand to backhand, which she would have preferred that wasn’t an accident by Jasmine Paolini. I thought she played a great match, execution wise, and I think it was a strategic match as well.”

Similarly, Courier pointed out how Gauff’s strategy was undone by a superior Paolini. He said, “A lot of double faults, but it was all about the forehand, I mean, she had 33 unforced errors on that shot alone. You would need a real big shovel to fill that hole in, and it’s something that’s very concerning, because you don’t want that to happen at the biggest moments.”

In what was a lopsided contest, Paolini broke hardly any sweat as she rallied on the home advantage to prevail in straight sets over Gauff 6-4, 6-2. With this, she also became the first Italian woman in 40 years to win the Rome Masters title. Moreover, she jumped to Number 4 in the WTA rankings, which is crucial ahead of the French Open. As a result, she was over the moon following her big win over Coco Gauff.

Jasmine Paolini can’t control her emotions after defeating Coco Gauff

Italian tennis is on a major rise of late, with Paolini winning the title and Jannik Sinner in the Rome Masters final. If Sinner wins tomorrow, it would be the first time in history that Italy would sweep the Rome Masters titles. Winning one of the biggest titles of her career, Paolini was elated, and her emotions became difficult to control for her.

During the post-match presentation ceremony, she revealed, “It doesn’t seem real to me. I came here as a kid to see this tournament but winning it and holding up this trophy wasn’t even in my dreams. The crowd has been incredible. It’s been two incredible weeks and it’s not finished yet.”

Interestingly, Paolini could earn further success as she will feature in the women’s doubles final with her partner Sara Errani. The duo will take on Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens tomorrow in what promises to be a thrilling encounter.