Tennis: Top seed Barty to meet Gauff in Italian Open quarters
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Ashleigh Barty (pictured) won 6-3, 6-3 against Veronika Kudermetova.
PHOTO: REUTERS
ROME (AFP) - World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty eased into the quarter-finals of the Italian Open on Thursday (May 13) with a straight sets win over Russian Veronika Kudermetova.
The top-seeded Australian won 6-3, 6-3 to set up a clash with American teenager Coco Gauff, who earlier ousted Madrid winner Aryna Sabalenka.
Barty, 25, lost to Sabalenka in last weekend's Madrid final and is warming up for the French Open which she won in 2019.
Belarus' Sabalenka, the world No. 4 and seventh seed, fell 7-5, 6-3 to the 17-year-old Gauff, ranked No. 35, who reached her fourth quarter-final of the year.
"It will be great to see where my level is," said Gauff of playing Barty.
"I mean, she's the No. 1 player in the world. I have no pressure on me.
"I'm just going to go out there and see what I can do and try my best."
Six of the WTA's top 10 players have already exited the Foro Italico including second-seed Naomi Osaka of Japan, four-time Rome winner Serena Williams, Sofia Kenin and Petra Kvitova.
Defending champion Simona Halep, the third seed, was forced out with a calf injury in her second round match.
"Hopefully I can continue that momentum into Paris," Gauff said of her bid to reach her second semi-final this year after Adelaide as she builds to the French Open.
"Obviously I want to keep going and keep going further. I'm not going to be satisfied until I reach my goal," added Gauff, who won her first WTA singles title at the 2019 Linz Open.
"Especially during that time people were saying, It's a fluke, it will never happen again.
"I think I've proved all those people wrong. I'm going to continue to prove them wrong."