Surprising message from Elina Svitolina that could rock Coco Gauff in the Rome final

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Elina Svitolina and Coco Gauff are set to meet in the Italian Open final on Saturday.

Svitolina has had an impressive run in Rome, picking up wins over Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina along the way.

Gauff, meanwhile, got past Mirra Andreeva and Iva Jovic on her way to the final.

The two have played each other five times before, with Svitolina holding a narrow 3-2 lead in their head-to-head record.

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Elina Svitolina looks ahead to Rome final against Coco Gauff

“Yeah, we played many times. I know what to expect from her game. I think she knows my game, as well. It’s going to be a big battle.

“I mean, for me, it’s always about now recovery. I had good win, so for me it’s important just to stay on track, stay on the same way, work on few tactical things against her.

“I think it will be important for me to have a clear vision on that, try to execute the best way I can.”

Svitolina also spoke about how she was feeling in general: “I’m just trying to pick up a good form, trying to work on few things, trying to face the difficult situations in a decent way”, she said.

“I think it’s been going well for me. For me it’s important to improve myself, improve my game, my mentality, to be at the top, and to play these kind of players and beat them. That’s always been a goal for me. I’m happy that it’s working now. I try to really build on that.”

Elina Svitolina says it will ‘mean the world’ to win the title

Svitolina has already lifted this trophy twice, winning consecutive titles in 2017 and 2018.