Coco Gauff vs Paula Badosa Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Rome

Prediction published on 12/05/2024, 01:47  by Daniel Ngulu in Tennis Predictions

Cori Gauff, the third seed at the Italian Open, will play world number 126 Paula Badosa in the fourth round of the competition. The winner will then take on Naomi Osaka or Qinwen Zheng in the quarter-finals. Cori Gauff battled through three sets to defeat lucky loser Jaqueline Cristian in the third round. She had eliminated Magdalena Frech by the loss of six games to begin her fifth campaign in Rome. The American is a former Italian Open semi-finalist, achieving this feat three seasons ago. She will seek to surpass this having now progressed past the third round for the first time since that semi-final run. The world number three has compiled a 23-7 record and has won one title. Gauff hasn’t had the best of times against Badosa and has lost three times in this fixture.

Paula Badosa has the upper hand against Gauff having defeated her three times in four meetings. She has won the last two matchups and defeated her on clay in Madrid in their last encounter last year. Her dominance against the American should make her confident of equaling last year’s quarter-final finish here. Badosa has struggled with her fitness after suffering a stress fracture midway through last season. She has played 18 matches so far in 2024 and so far has her record split at 9-9. The Spaniard, playing in Rome with a protected ranking, eliminated Diana Shnaider in three sets in the third round. It was her second three-setter of the competition having also required a decider to get the better of Emma Navarro in round two. Badosa is an exceptional clay performer and has won more matches on the surface than any other. The former world number two’s struggles led to her dropping out of the WTA top 100. She is currently ranked 140th in the live ranking.