Reigning US Open champion Gauff shook off a sudden change in fortunes in the second set, eventually prevailing over World No.68 Cristian in 2 hours and 4 minutes. Gauff, a Rome semifinalist in 2021, is into the Round of 16 at the event for the third time in her career.
In her next match, Gauff will square off against former World No.2 Paula Badosa of Spain, who edged past Diana Shnaider 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 earlier on Saturday. Badosa leads Gauff 3-1 in their head-to-head, including a 6-3, 6-0 victory on clay at Madrid last year. Gauff notched her 15th match-win at a clay-court WTA 1000 event — the most by any player before the age of 21 (dating back to the creation of the WTA 1000 tier in 2009). Caroline Wozniacki is in second place, with 14 clay-court WTA 1000 match-wins before her 21st birthday.
