Coco Gauff and Erin Routliffe will play in the 2024 Italian Open doubles final after they overcame Xinyu Wang and Saisai Zheng.
This was a pretty interesting matchup on paper because the Chinese pairing is really strong, and they have been playing some really solid tennis lately. Gauff and Routliffe never played together before this week, because the American generally plays with Jessica Pegula.
They haven't been playing as often this year because the 20-year-old is prioritizing singles this year, but they were planning to play on clay because they are planning to play at the Olympic Games, which are going to be held on clay this year.
The new pairing was working really well because Routliffe has worked her way to the top of doubles tennis, while Gauff was always solid. They took the opening set in this match as well, largely because they dominated on return.
The Chinese players didn't have a good serving day, and they got crushed on their serve. They broke their opponents once, but it wasn't enough; they were broken a few times as well, as Gauff and Routliffe won the first set 6-3.
The second set was a crazy one because neither player was able to keep their serve. It started with a 2-0 lead for the Chinese duo, which became a 2-1 lead, a 3-1 lead, and then a 3-2 lead, with no team holding their serve in the process.
There were seven games in a row that featured breaks. At the end of it all, Gauff and Routliffe were up 5-4 and served for the set but failed to serve it out.
They then failed to serve it out once again, but ultimately, they were able to win the match in the tie-break, winning 6-3, 7-6(3). It's not the final that Gauff wanted but it's a good consolation prize that she will take after the painful loss to Iga Swiatek in singles.