Peyton Stearns has continued her dream run at the Italian Open by reaching the semi-finals, where she will take on Jasmine Paolini.
Stearns has been backed to shine at the French Open, with the clay-court Grand Slam getting underway later this month.
Her fellow American Coco Gauff is expecting a tough Iga Swiatek at the French Open, with the WTA number two having won the last three titles at Roland Garros.
Before that, however, both Stearns and Gauff have been enjoying lengthy stays at the Italian Open in Rome.
Stearns now faces sixth seed Paolini for a spot in the final, having just knocked out 16th seed Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty ImagesPeyton Stearns clinches 45-year American record at the Italian Open
And the 23-year-old has secured a superb feat with the victory, in which she beat Svitolina 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(7-4).
As per OptaAce, Stearns is the first American player in the last 45 years to reach all her first three WTA-level semi-finals on clay court.
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She headed to the Italian Open on the back of a strong run at the Madrid Open, where the American fell in the last 16 to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka.
Peyton Stearns makes WTA history as she reaches Italian Open semi-final
Stearns has thus far managed to avoid world number one Sabalenka, but her road to the semi-finals has been hugely impressive.
And as per OptaAce, she has now recorded tennis history, becoming the first player to win three WTA-level matches in a row via a third-set tie break during the Open Era.
The world number 42 certainly hasn’t given up during her testing matches in Italy, with the calibre of opponents knocked out making her displays that bit more special.
Stearns now faces a huge test against home favourite Paolini, but can take great confidence from her wins against the likes of four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and current Australian Open champion Madison Keys.
She beat the latter in the round of 32 and the former in the round of 16, with both matches going the distance.
The Italian Open crowd will, however, heavily back Paolini next up, with the world number five also enjoying a strong run in the doubles event on home soil.