Rome ¨C Ukraine¡¯s Elina Svitolina signaled her French Open ambitions by battling past world No. 4 Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 in the Italian Open final on Saturday to lift her first clay-court title of the season ahead of?Roland Garros.
Victory over the American followed Svitolina¡¯s wins over world No. 2 Elena Rybakina and third-ranked Iga Swiatek, ?making her a strong contender to claim her?maiden Grand Slam title in Paris, where the ?main draw ?begins on May 24.
Svitolina¡¯s third title in the Italian capital comes eight years after ?her second successive triumph at Foro Italico, a spell that included a maternity break in which she gave birth to her daughter with fellow player Gael Monfils in late 2022.
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