Italian Open: Iga Swiatek will play Karolina Pliskova in Rome final
- Published
Iga Swiatek had beaten Elina Svitolina on Saturday morning to reach the last four in Rome
French Open champion Iga Swiatek won two matches in a day to set up an Italian Open final against Karolina Pliskova in Rome.
Nineteen-year-old Swiatek, seeded 15th, beat 17-year-old American Coco Gauff 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 in her semi-final.
Earlier on Saturday, the Pole saw off Elina Svitolina 6-2 7-5 in a match held over from Friday because of rain.
Pliskova, 29, made her third straight Italian Open final with a 6-1 3-6 6-2 win over Croatia's Petra Martic.
Czech ninth seed Pliskova, the 2019 champion, lost last year's final after retiring injured while trailing Simona Halep.
"I started worrying about the semi-final right after I finished basically. Kind of mad that I couldn't even celebrate," said Swiatek, who can break into the world top 10 if she beats Pliskova.
"I told myself there's nothing I can do about it, I have no influence. I was pretty surprised that we're going to be scheduled at 4pm because the men's semi-final was at 6pm. It's a new experience for me."
Salford's 'Mr Big': Paul Massey's rise in the criminal underworld through violence and extortion
Dive into 2010s nostalgia with our quiz: How much do you remember about music from the last decade?
