Coco Gauff overcame Magdalena Frech in their second-round clash at the Italian Open, the 20-year-old American triumphing in straight sets.
Gauff, seeded third in the tournament, overcame nine double faults on her way to a 6-3 6-3 victory over her Polish opponent, setting up a meeting with qualifying lucky loser Jaqueline Cristian in the next round.
The reigning US Open champion hit three aces as she continues to tinker with her serve ahead of the second Grand Slam of 2024, the French Open.
“I feel like the other parts of my game are improving in the right direction,” Gauff said following her win. “That’s the part that if I can work through, I think it will set me up for a very good Roland Garros.
“Other than that, I feel like I’m returning well, hitting off the ground well.”
Naomi Osaka notched the first top 20 win on clay of her career after beating No 20 Marta Kostyuk 6-3 6-2 in the second round on Thursday.
Coming a day after her straight-sets win over France’s Clara Burel, this is the first time Osaka has posted back-to-back wins on clay since 2019.
Elsewhere, current world No 1 Iga Swiatek earned an emphatic 6-0 6-2 win over Bernarda Pera following off the back of her success at the Madrid Open last week.
Former No 1 Angelique Kerber ousted 17th-seeded Veronika Kudermetova 6-3 6-0, while Linda Noskova beat Italy’s Lucrezia Stefanini 6-3 7-6.
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis?
In the run-up to the second Grand Slam of 2024 – the French Open at Roland Garros from May 26 – you can watch all of the biggest tennis stars in action live on Sky Sports as they compete across the clay-court season.
- Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome (ATP and WTA Masters 1000) – May 7-19
- Geneva Open (ATP 250) – May 20-26
- Lyon Open (ATP 250) – May 20-26
- Internationaux de Strasbourg (WTA 500 with Emma Raducanu in action) – May 20-26
- Morocco Open (WTA 250) – May 20-26
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Find out all the ways to watch tennis on Sky Sports, including the US Open, ATP and WTA tours
Sky Sports will broadcast more live tennis than anywhere else in 2024, including on its dedicated tennis channel, bringing over 4,000 matches from more than 80 tournaments a year on the ATP and WTA Tours, plus full coverage of the US Open exclusively live.
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Fans will also be able to follow their favourite players and gain deeper insights from both Tours via Sky Sports News, the Sky Sports App and skysports.com as well as via Sky Sports’ social channels.
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