\n<\/p>\n
“I\u00a0came\u00a0here\u00a0as\u00a0a\u00a0kid\u00a0to\u00a0watch\u00a0this\u00a0tournament\u00a0so\u00a0to\u00a0lift\u00a0the\u00a0trophy\u00a0is\u00a0beyond\u00a0what\u00a0I\u00a0ever\u00a0dreamed\u00a0of.”<\/p>\n
Neither player was able to hold serve in the opening three games before Paolini’s nerves eventually settled as she took a 3-1 lead.<\/p>\n
That was the point at which Paolini upped the ante as she closed out the set in emphatic fashion.<\/p>\n
Paolini raced into a 3-0 lead in the second set with two early breaks before Gauff claimed a break back and then managed to hold her serve.<\/p>\n
However, Gauff was unable to wrestle momentum back her way as Paolini swaggered through the remainder of the set.<\/p>\n
Guaff saved one match point but, at 40-30, Paolini sealed victory with a powerful serve down the middle.<\/p>\n
Victory means she will move up a place to fourth in the world rankings on Monday and obtain a top-four seeding for the French Open, which begins next weekend.<\/p>\n
She and Sara Errani take on Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens in Sunday’s women’s doubles final.<\/p>\n
Monica Seles was the last woman to win the singles and doubles tournaments in Rome in 1990, while the only player to do so in a WTA 1000 series tournament was Vera Zvonareva at Indian Wells in 2009.<\/p>\n
Paolini’s compatriot Jannik Sinner will contend the men’s singles final against rival Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n