ALEX Eala and Coco Gauff made experience count as they trounced younger opponents to reach the 2025 Italian Open women’s doubles quarterfinals.
The Filipino-American duo delivered another dominant performance in only their second match together, defeating home bets Tyra Grant and Lisa Pigato, 6-2, 6-3, in their round-of-16 match on Tuesday night.
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They will face a stiffer test in the quarterfinals later this week against Italy’s top-ranked duo in tournament third seeds Sara Errani (world No. 6) and Jasmine Paolini (world No. 5), in front of an expected partisan home crowd.
Despite a large home crowd cheering the Italian pair on, Eala and Gauff came out firing, racing to a 3-0 lead and putting immediate pressure on the decorated junior players.
Grant, 17, and Pigato, 21, finally got on the board in the fourth game of the first set. But, the momentum remained firmly with world No. 3 Gauff and No. 64 Eala, who extended their lead to 5-2 before closing out the first set in clinical fashion.
In the second set, the Italians showed more fight, keeping pace early at 1-1. Eala and Gauff, however, stayed composed and pulled ahead 3-1.
Grant and Pigato rallied to even the score at 3-3, drawing cheers from the home crowd. But as pressure mounted, Eala and Gauff responded like seasoned pros—regaining control to take the final three games and seal the win at 6-3.
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