Coco Gauff and Zheng Qinwen were locked in a tightly contested battle that had seen the American edge out the first set in a tiebreak and Zheng claw back the second 6-4. However, it was in the early stages of the third set that the match had its most memorable moment- not through a blazing winner or a marathon rally, but through unfiltered humor.

Coco Gauff served to an empty court at one stage during her Italian Open semi-final showdown with Qinwen Zheng after her opponent had left her position to change her racket. The match proved to be a scintillating affair, with Gauff coming out on top after a tiebreak in the deciding set.

Coco Gauff has reached the Italian Open final after seeing off Zheng Qinwen, but she echoed Alexander Zverev in voicing her displeasure at the standard of the balls after