Manuel Chávez
Dailysports's expert
Coco Gauff
The women’s singles final of the tennis tournament in Rome is set for May 17. Coco Gauff and Jasmine Paolini will battle for the title, and here’s my exclusive prediction for this highly anticipated showdown.
Coco Gauff
The leading American star on the global tennis scene is having a season that’s not particularly dazzling, as she hasn’t claimed a single tournament victory yet. Nevertheless, Gauff holds the world No. 3 ranking and is set to move up to No. 2 next week.
There’s clear progress in her results—she reached the final in Madrid, falling only to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Now, the American has once again fought her way to a championship clash. Gauff kicked off her campaign with a win over the little-known Victoria Mboko—3-6, 6-2, 6-1—then dispatched Magda Linette, 7-5, 6-3. She confidently swept aside Emma Raducanu, 6-1, 6-2, and battled past Mirra Andreeva in a tough contest, 6-4, 7-6. Her toughest test came against China’s Zheng, as reflected in the scoreline—7-6, 4-6, 7-6—where she had to come back from 3-5 down in the deciding set.
Jasmine Paolini
The Italian ace, ranked world No. 5, is playing with extra motivation at her home tournament. This marks Paolini’s first final of the season, so it’s no surprise she’s yet to capture a title this year.
She opened with a win over Lulu Sun—6-4, 6-3—followed by an identical scoreline against Ons Jabeur. Next, she overcame the unpredictable Ostapenko, 7-5, 6-2. Paolini pulled off a real feat against Diana Shnaider, coming back from 6-7, 0-4 down to win 12 of the next 14 games, taking the match 6-7, 6-4, 6-2. In the semifinals, she defeated Peyton Stearns, 7-5, 6-1.
Head-to-head
The stats show the players have faced off three times, with the American leading 2-1. Two meetings were on hard courts, both won by Gauff, but the most recent clash took place a month ago on clay in Stuttgart, where the Italian came out on top.
Prediction
This promises to be a blockbuster final, with two top-5 players squaring off. Bookmakers give a slight edge to the American, but anything can happen here. My pick: bet on the total games to be over 20.5.
