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.

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.

Zheng Qinwen earned her first victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-3 to set up an Italian Open semifinal match against Coco Gauff.