Gauff ends Cirstea run to reach Italian Open final
Coco Gauff defeated Sorana Cirstea in straight sets to reach her second consecutive final at the Italian Open.
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Cirstea was out to cause another upset after already beating Aryna Sabalenka and Linda Noskova in Rome, but Gauff won 6-4 6-3 in an hour and 18 minutes.
The third seed started on the back foot as Cirstea broke her serve in the opening game of the first set, though the American got the set back on serve by the eighth game.
Gauff then broke again in the 10th game to win the early advantage, before the pair traded blows to start the second.
There were then three consecutive breaks of serve later in the second, two of which went in favour of Gauff and set her on the way to victory.
And she held serve to clinch the win, doing so with her first match point, as she awaits either Iga Swiatek or Elina Svitolina in the final.













