Emma Raducanu fires accusation at Italian Open rival as Coco Gauff question asked

accused Veronika Kudermetova of trying to "throw her off" when she took an opportune off-court medical time-out during their third-round match. The Brit dropped the first set after serving for it but she stormed back and led 5-0 in set two when her opponent called the physio and left the arena.

If Kudermetova was trying to distract Raducanu, it didn't work. The world No. 49 produced a statement performance in sets two and three, . She will now face Coco Gauff, though she wasn't convinced that Gauff would definitely be her next opponent.

Raducanu was on form as she spoke to Sky Sports moments after booking her spot in the last-16 at the Italian Open. It's no surprise the 22-year-old was all smiles; she dominated Kudermetova after a brief lapse at the end of the first set, when she lost the last three games in a row.

The former US Open champion refused to let that play on her mind for the rest of the match, and the tide quickly turned. Raducanu raced into a 5-0 lead in the second set, but before she could serve for it, Kudermetova received an off-court medical time-out.

"It was difficult, but luckily I was 5-0 up when she took the time-out. I kind of knew it was to try and throw me off," Raducanu laughed when asked about the brief interruption.

"I kind of kept my cool and luckily I had a good cushion and served it out. In the third set, I was really on it. It's hard after serving for the first set. It doesn't just slip out of your mind, you do refer back to it even if you're going into the third set. I'm really happy with how I re-focused."

But she wasn't sure about her accusation towards Kudermatova. "I don't know, was that candid?" the Brit smiled.

Raducanu has never made it this far at a clay-court tournament at Grand Slam or WTA 1000 level. But one person who knows all about the surface is her next opponent, Gauff. The American has reached the French Open final and recently finished runner-up in Madrid.

However, the world No. 49 couldn't believe she was playing Gauff and seemed surprised when presenter Gigi Salmon brought up her next opponent.

"I haven't looked at the draw, to be honest, but yeah, she's a great competitor. Are you sure I'm playing Coco?" Raducanu asked.

"I'm positive. I even double-checked. 100 per cent," Salmon replied.

After getting the verification, Raducanu continued: "Okay. I think I'm playing pretty good tennis right now and she is going to be a great test. She made the final of the French Open so she's great on this surface so I'm going to keep focused but savour this one for now."

As for her own clay-court game, the British No. 2 is already seeing improvements, but she wants to keep working.

"I think that I'm happy with the variety that I have on my shots. I think I'm able to return from two different positions - up and back," she explained.

"Which is new and I think I've adopted the back a lot more in the last two matches and it's helped me just get into the point and be in a better position on the ball.

"I still think I can be better out of the corners. I think moving and after my serve, ball three, just getting into a split better. Sometimes I feel a bit caught out still."