Coco Gauff matched another WTA record after booking her place in the Italian Open quarter-finals.
The American rallied from a set down to defeat Spain’s Paula Badosa 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 and reach the last eight in Rome for the first time since 2021.
The 25-year-old had won three of their four previous matches and she was halfway to another victory before the World Number Three broke serve to take the match into a deciding set.
Gauff then won 30 of 46 points in set three as she kept her hopes of winning a maiden Italian Open title alive.
Coco Gauff ties WTA record after reaching Italian Open quarter-finals
Despite serving 11 double faults, Gauff hit 35 winners and used her excellent defensive skills to wear down Badosa as she eased to victory in the final set.
After claiming just her second career win over the former World Number Two, Gauff won her 60th match at WTA 1000 events.
This ties the record set by Caroline Wozniacki for the most wins at this level before the age of 21.
In the process Gauff won her 10th match at the Italian Open and is now just the fourth American to win this many matches at the tournament before turning 21 after Chris Evert, Venus and Serena Williams.
The US Open champion now has a record of six wins and two losses on the clay this season and she aims to improve on that record at the Foro Italico ahead of Roland Garros.
Who is Coco Gauff’s next opponent?
Coco faces another tough test when she takes on Qinwen Zheng in the Italian Open quarter-finals.
The seventh seed produced her best performance of the tournament to dispatch Naomi Osaka in round four with the loss of just six games.
They are the WTA tour’s two youngest players ranked inside the world’s top 25, but Tuesday’s contest will be their first meeting.
Zheng’s appearance in the last eight in Rome is her first since the February’s Dubai Open and Gauff, who is searching for her first title since the January’s ASB Classic, is looking forward to the match.
“Obviously we’re both different players,” the US Open champion said. “It should be a fun matchup for the next round.”
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