Raducanu’s Rome tournament ended with a victory for the classy Gauff

Emma Raducanu’s inspirational tournament came to an end in the final 16 of the Italian Open as world number three Coco Gauff proved too high-class.

Raducanu, ranked 49th in the rankings, lost to American Gauff 6-1 6-2 on Roman clay.

The British number two won three consecutive clay court matches for the first time in her career and reached the fourth round in the Italian capital.

But any hopes she had of pulling off a shock upset against the 21-year-old Gauff soon faded.

Like Raducanu in 2021, Gauff scored her only victory on US Open hard court two years ago, but on Monday she showed she is a force on the red soil as well.

Gauff, who reached the French Open final three years ago, played superbly on serve from the start and dug deep when needed.

“Emma is a difficult opponent regardless of the surface and she’s always tough to play against, so I’m happy with the way I played,” Gauff told Sky Sports after the match.

The meeting with Gauff was only Raducanu’s 21st clay court match of her career – against 81 on hard court and 20 on grass.

It is therefore not surprising that she is still – by her own admission – finding herself on this surface.

Defeating Australian teenager Maya Joynt, Switzerland’s Gill Teichmann and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova to reach the last 16 of the Rome tournament is major progress.

The meeting with Gauff was a different story.

Although Raducanu’s movement improved on clay, it wasn’t enough to consistently counter Gauff’s rally.

The weight of Gauff’s kicks was hard to handle, and while Raducanu was able to take points regularly, the American’s athleticism made it difficult for the Brit to dictate them.

Nevertheless, Raducanu will head into the French Open, which starts on May 25, with a positive attitude.

She has won eight of 11 matches with Petchey working alongside longtime Raducanu associate Jane O’Donoghue in her corner.

How long that partnership will last is not yet known.