Elina Svitolina is the champion in Rome once again, having beaten Coco Gauff in a thrilling three-set affair.
It marks the third time she has won this event, but it is by far the biggest title that the Ukrainian has captured since returning to tennis following the birth of her child.
And, she certainly had to work to get it.
Elina Svitolina beat the fourth-, third- and second-best-ranked players in the world in consecutive matches on her way to the trophy, overcoming Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek and now Coco Gauff.
This will be remembered as one of the great tournament runs, and she spoke glowingly about the tournament and her American opponent in her championship speech.
Elina Svitolina speaks on court after winning the Italian Open title
Svitolina began her speech by outlining her shock after being told it had been eight years since her last title here in Rome.
“Yes, very hard to believe that it’s been eight years since I first had this trophy here,” she began, adding: “ I’m very, very, very, very pleased, of course, with the week here, two weeks here.”
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However, the 31-year-old then turned her attention to Gauff: “But first, I want to say congrats to Coco for a great tournament, for your team as well. You’re such a great champion, and hopefully we will have more battles with you in the future.”
She was also keen to draw attention to her team, recalling: “I had a tough loss in a final in Dubai this year, and it was my 19th title, and I was aiming for 20th. I told my coach that it would be nice, before I finished my career, to have a round number. So, he told me that, hopefully, we’re going to get this this year, so very, very happy.
“Thank you so much, guys, for putting so much hard work, and I’m very happy to hold this trophy with you.”
Gauff also spoke about Svitolina in her runners-up speech, and actually stated that she hoped they would meet again in the upcoming Roland Garros final.
Annabel Croft names Elina Svitolina as a threat for the Roland Garros title
Speaking live on Sky Sports as Svitolina celebrated a third Italian Open title, Annabel Croft had some bold claims to make heading into Roland Garros.
She argued: “This sends warning signals out, doesn’t it?
“Because of the confidence that she’s gonna take and the springboard into Roland Garros.”
Croft added: “And I really do feel that she is so vastly improved. She’s added so much more to her game. We saw a lot of those lovely, faded slices when she was approaching the net. She looked so much more at ease in some difficult situations, and you think back to the early part of her career when she used to, you know, show a lot of emotion. She is so on it when she really needs it.”
“I just don’t know where she gets her energy from because she was a tiny bit weary midway through that first set.
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“And then she suddenly just started to find another gear, she got so comfortable with, you know, the tempo of the match, and there were a lot of longer, drawn-out exchanges that start with that horrible spinny, you know, top spin forehand of Coco Gauff, which is so difficult to attack, because every ball is going up around your head, and it’s difficult to impose pace from there.”
