Coco Gauff needed three and a half hours to get past Zheng Qinwen in three sets Thursday to reach the Italian Open final, where she'll face Jasmine Paolini.

Italy's Jasmine Paolini recovered from a slow start to reach the Italian Open final with a 7-5 6-1 victory against Peyton Stearns. 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.

Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian woman in more than a decade to reach the final of her home Italian Open when she beat American Peyton Stearns 7-5 6-1 on Thursday.