![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/GettyImages-1671820290.jpg?width=600)
via Getty
NEW YORK, USA: September 9: Coco Gauff of the United States reacts as she receives the winners’ cheque after her victory against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the Women’s Singles Final on Arthur Ashe Stadium during the US Open Tennis Championship 2023 at the USTA National Tennis Centre on September 9th, 2023 in Flushing, Queens, New York City. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/GettyImages-1671820290.jpg?width=600)
via Getty
NEW YORK, USA: September 9: Coco Gauff of the United States reacts as she receives the winners’ cheque after her victory against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the Women’s Singles Final on Arthur Ashe Stadium during the US Open Tennis Championship 2023 at the USTA National Tennis Centre on September 9th, 2023 in Flushing, Queens, New York City. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
The clay season at the Italian Open is going on in full swing. While some of the top names made their way into the tournaments without any hassle, there were some nerve-wracking moments as well. Talking about the top players, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Paula Badosa, and Coco Gauff were all in action today. While some made their way into the tournament without any hassle, some had to sweat their blood out to get the win.
However, the main highlight of the day was the incident by Stefanos Tsitsipas which caught everyone’s eye. Apart from that, Coco Gauff had to go through one of the major setbacks as she was down 0-6 at one point in a set. All the action-packed madness in Rome.
Stefanos Tsitsipas breaks racket in frustration
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Frustration mounted Stefanos Tsitsiaps right at the start of his game against Jan-Lennard Struff. Some moments after the start of the match, the Greek player could not seem to have controlled his anger and lashed his racket onto a signboard. What makes things even crazier is the fact that the incident happened just 5 minutes right into the start of the game. This showed the frustration that he had with the errors he committed in court.
This is the clip.pic.twitter.com/NQAYu50w3M
— Tennis Updates (@TennisUpdates24) May 11, 2024
Eventually, he went on to lose the first set with the scoreline 6-7. But, when it mattered the most, he eventually stepped up. While his German opponent was just one set away from snatching the win, Tsitsipas made a stunning comeback and clinched the second set 6-4 to force the game into a decider.
Paula Badosa sweats it out and steals a win
Next up, Paula Badosa came up and faced Diana Shnaider of Russia. While the Spanish star came into the match as a clear favourite, her opponent gave her some trouble right from the start. A sluggish start from Badosa ended in her opponent taking the lead right at the start of the set.
However, a determined Badosa made sure that she wouldn’t give it up without a fight. She fought right till the end and clinched the second set in her favor. This forced the match to go in the third set. When it mattered the most, Paula Badosa stepped up and clinched the set and stole victory from the jaws of defeat.
Paula Badosa’s reaction as she reaches her 1st WTA 1000 R4 in a year.
She let's out a huge scream.
She puts a 🫶 up for the packed crowd that stayed and supported her the whole way through.
Inject this into my veins. 🥹 pic.twitter.com/5W7jUUXV70
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 11, 2024
With the win, she also managed to secure her first 4th round appearance in Masters 1ooo this year. The final scoreline of the match ended 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in favor of the Spanish superstar. Next, it was Coco Gauff’s turn to shine on the big stage.
Coco Gauff escapes a narrow defeat in a 3-set thriller
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The American superstar, who has been highly regarded as one of the next big things in women’s tennis came into the tournament as one of the dark horses. However, her Romanian opponent Jaqueline Cristian did not make things any easier for her. After having won the first set comfortably with the score of 6-1, she played her worst tennis in the second set.
Coco comes through 💪@CocoGauff survives a mid-match surge from Cristian to advance 6-1, 0-6, 6-3 in Rome.#IBI24 pic.twitter.com/7sUigkCcOp
— wta (@WTA) May 11, 2024
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Cristian, who was determined to take the match into the 3-set thriller managed to win the second set with the scoreline of 6-0. This forced the match into a decider. However, baffled by the score, Gauff made it clear that she had only a win on her mind. She then went ahead to clinch the match with the scoreline of 6-1, 0-6, 6-3.
Thus, tennis here at the Italian Open had some of the amazing turnarounds. While Stefanos Tsitsiaps could not control his anger, Paula Badosa and Coco Gauff managed to secure their way into the next round after a strong fight.