Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Zheng Qinwen, Madison Keys and Jelena Ostapenko all booked Italian Open quarter-final spots in Rome after victories on Monday; Watch continued coverage of the Italian Open live on Sky Sports Tennis
Monday 13 May 2024 16:19, UK
Coco Gauff came from a set down to beat Spain's Paula Badosa 5-7 6-4 6-1, sealing her place in the Italian Open quarter-finals.
The 20-year-old American slipped a set behind to Badosa in Rome, but recovered to win the second set and wrapped up victory in the third.
Earlier, No 1 seed Iga Swiatek booked her place in the last eight via a straight-sets win over Angelique Kerber 7-5 6-3.
Elsewhere, No 7 seed Zheng Qinwen advanced to the quarter-finals for a second straight year, ending Naomi Osaka's run with a 6-2 6-4 win in one hour and 24 minutes.
The victory means China's Qinwen will face Gauff in the last eight on Tuesday.
The USA's Madison Keys beat Romania's Sorana Cirstea 6-2 6-1 to set-up a quarter-final clash against Swiatek. Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko also fought hard to defeat Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova - Katie Boulter's conqueror in Rome - in a dramatic third set tiebreak 4-6 6-4 7-6.
The clash between Keys and Cirstea was one of two matches climate protesters forced to be suspended at the Italian Open on Monday.
Two members of environmental protest group Ultima Generazione ran on to the court wearing orange vests and threw confetti, while other activists glued themselves to the stands.
A statement on the Italian Open website read: "With the public very angry against the demonstrators, the police officers and firefighters also arrived.
"One of the demonstrators had moved onto the lawn under the big screen of (Court) Pietrangeli. He was taken away by the police."
"As soon as I saw them come over the barrier, my first thought was like: 'Should I go tackle one of them?' But I stopped myself," Keys said.
"And then the chair (umpire) started yelling at me to go sit down. Unfortunately, it's starting to become a little bit of a common thing that's happening."
Johanna Konta speaking to Sky Sports News...
"I think so [Osaka has a chance to return to the top]. It's very early days, she has only really started back on tour at the beginning of this year.
"Obviously having a baby is a massive life shift, and I think there's plenty of time.
"It's nice to see her actually start building her level. It's unfortunate she lost the match to Zheng, however seeing her win some matches throughout the year can only lead to a more consistent level from her.
"Iga Swiatek is the favourite for me. I think she might replicate her form of a couple of years ago when she went on that really massive win streak that incorporated all of the clay."
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