Rome, May 16 -- Jasmine Paolini will face Coco Gauff in the Italian Open final on Saturday as she bids to become the event's first home women's singles champion for 40 years.
A 7-5 6-1 victory against Peyton Stearns on Thursday carried Italian Paolini through to the title match.
World number five Paolini struggled in the early stages and faced a set point when trailing 5-3 in the opener, but American Stearns was unable to hold serve.
Crowd favourite Paolini overturned the deficit to take the opening set before growing in confidence and dominating the second.
Paolini's win makes her the first Italian woman to reach the singles final in Rome since 2014 when her current doubles partner, Sara Errani, was beaten by Serena Williams, the BBC r...