Blake Krass gives his pick, preview and prediction for the epic Italian Open quarterfinal match between Mirra Andreeva and Coco Gauff.
The 2026 Italian Open is the final big clay tournament ahead of the French Open. There is an epic quarterfinal match set between Mirra Andreeva and Coco Gauff. The match begins at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 12th.
Mirra Andreeva is the No. 7-ranked player in the world and has really been playing like a top-five player in the world this season. Andreeva is coming off an amazing Madrid Open, where she made the final in both singles and doubles. She also made the semifinals in Stuttgart and won the Linz Open. It has been an incredible start to the clay season for Andreeva, who is going to be a serious contender at Roland-Garros in a couple of weeks. A WTA 1000 title here in Rome would mean a lot for Andreeva ahead of the French Open. She won two WTA 1000 titles last year in the early part of the season, but she has now gone over a year without winning one. Andreeva is still incredibly young at just 19 years old, but she wants to keep the momentum up with so many other great young players in the sport.
Coco Gauff has not been at her best in 2026. She exited the Australian Open earlier than expected. She then proceeded to get upset at every tournament she has played in this year, except the Miami Open, where she did reach the final and lose to Aryna Sabalenka. Expectations are incredibly high when you are the No. 4 player in the world, which Gauff is. However, she has not risen to the occasion to challenge Sabalenka in 2026 the way that someone like Elena Rybakina has. Gauff has always had a complicated relationship with clay season, but she made the final here in Rome last year and then went on to win at Roland-Garros. She is hoping to make another run here in Rome to get her ready for Paris.
This Italian Open quarterfinal match between Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva is a true coin flip. Andreeva is -112 on the Moneyline, while Gauff is -109 to win the match. Andreeva is undoubtedly in better form this year, but Gauff has the history. Not only did she make the final here in Rome last year, but she has the head-to-head history against Mirra Andreeva.
Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva have played each other four times over the years. Gauff has won all four of those matches. Not only has she never lost to Andreeva, but the setting of the matches is quite relevant to this one. These two faced off in the quarterfinals here in Rome last year as well, where Gauff won 6-4, 7-6. They also met in the Madrid Open quarterfinals last year, where Gauff won 7-5, 6-1. Their two meetings before that came when Andreeva was very young. However, this time last year, Andreeva was playing at a very high level and had just won the title at Indian Wells. She came to clay and lost to Gauff in both Madrid and Rome. That history is important to note.
Some players are just a bad matchup for others. Gauff seems to be that bad matchup for Andreeva, especially on clay. Coco Gauff is a world-class player and needs to get some momentum going in 2026. A win in a top-10 showdown like this with a spot in the Italian Open semifinals on the line is just the boost she needs ahead of the second major of the season. I will back Coco Gauff to keep a perfect record against Mirra Andreeva.
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