Emilia-Romagna Open: Coco Gauff creates history in Parma with singles, doubles titles

Parma, Italy: American teenager Coco Gauff swept aside China’s Wang Qiang to win her second WTA career title on clay in Parma on Saturday. Third seed Gauff won through 6-1, 6-3 against Wang, the sixth seed, in 74 minutes to add to her hardcourt title in Linz in 2019. After reaching the semi-finals on clay in the Italian Open in Rome last week, 17-year-old Gauff dropped only one set en route to the title in Parma, just one week before Roland Garros. Gauff, who is ranked 30 in the world and has won 20 of her last 26 matches, saved each of four break points in her first meeting with the 29-year-old Wang. The Chinese player was looking for her third title and first outside China. “It definitely means a lot, especially on clay, which is not really a surface I feel like people associate with me,” said Gauff. “I always liked clay, but I always fall on it, I always get dirty!” “I have good results on it, so it’s not about my performance. It’s just that clay shows you a little extra love than the other surfaces do.” Gauff later made it a clean sweep of the titles in Parma, as she paired with Caty McNally to win the doubles. The Amercian pair defeated second seeds Darija Jurak and Andreja Klepac, 6-3, 6-2. At 17 years, 70 days old, Gauff is the youngest player to sweep the singles and doubles titles at an event since Maria Sharapova won both titles at 2004 Birmingham, at 17 years, 55 days old. Sharapova completed the sweep 92 days after Gauff was born.