PARIS– PARIS (AP) — Iga Swiatek is the best there is in tennis at the moment, especially in French Open. It’s been like this for some time now. Therefore, its unwavering success against Coco Gauff almost everywhere – and certainly at Roland Garros – it should come as no surprise now.
Swiatek continued his dominance over Gauff and extended his winning streak in Paris to 20 matches with a 6-2, 6-4 victory in the semi-finals on Thursday.
“It was definitely intense,” said No. 1-ranked Swiatek, who has won five of her last six matches after trailing 3-1 in the second set. I didn’t overthink things and just went for it in the end.
In Saturday’s title fight, Swiatek will face #12 Jasmine Paolini from Italya 6-3 6-1 victory against 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva in the second semi-final.
Swiatek is trying to win her fourth championship in five years at the French Open and could become the first woman with three consecutive titles since Justine Henin from 2007-09. For Paolini, this will be his first Grand Slam final; she never got past the second round in any of her opening 16 majors matches until reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.
Swiatek improved to 11-1 overall against third-seeded Gauff, the defending U.S. Open champion. That represents more wins than Swiatek has accumulated against any other player – and includes head-to-head victories in the clay-court Grand Slam tournament for three consecutive years, including in the 2022 final and last year’s quarterfinals.
“She is making a lot of progress. You can see from her results. Last year’s US Open certainly showed that she is tough. At this age, it’s kind of obvious that she’s going to grow up. So it’s good to see her handling everything around her well, because it’s not easy,” said Swiatek, who turned 23 last week. “I’m sure we will have many more intense matches at the highest level.”
As far as Gauff is concerned, perhaps a different opponent would have been preferable.
Swiatek, who is 4-0 in major finals, has been at his dominant best for most of the past month, tracking titles at clay-court events in Rome and Madrid.
Leaving aside one three-set second-round victory over four-time major champion Naomi Osakawhen she was forced to save a match point, Swiatek gave up a total of just 17 games in her other five matches in Paris.
Displaying his usual brand of powerful but clean groundstrokes, Swiatek needed just 10 winners to advance on Thursday, in part because he made just 14 unforced errors – while Gauff finished with 39.
This is what Swiatek does with those on the other side of the net, especially on clay: with defense and precision, she makes them hit so many shots that eventually mistakes are bound to happen.
Similar dynamics occurred in the other semifinal. The key statistics were these: Paolini saved all six break points she faced and committed just 10 unforced errors to Andreeva’s 29.
“I was nervous in the first set,” Paolini said, “but ball after ball I was getting relaxed.”
It didn’t take long for Swiatek to assert herself on a sunny afternoon at Court Philippe Chatrier, where several spectators waved the red and white flags of her native Poland – even earning a warning from chair umpire Aurélie Tourte in the second set.
When Gauff missed the mark early on, she really missed. A return came out of the racket frame. Another flew 3 meters long. The opening game ended when Gauff hit a volley that fell just wide too, providing a break.
Swiatek had a double break at 4-1 when Gauff scored a backhand, then slapped his thigh and slammed his racket into a bag on his side bench. There were other examples of negative body language from Gauff: a bowed head here, slumped shoulders there.
It’s not like she doesn’t have some chances to match this better.
In each of Swiatek’s first two service games, she faced a break point. But each time Gauff failed to convert.
In the second set, an hour into the semi-final, Gauff finally broke to lead 3-1. This happened shortly after Gauff fell out with Tourte.
A Swiatek serve was called just as Gauff was missing his return attempt. Tourte awarded the point to Swiatek, saying the linesman’s decision did not affect Gauff’s swing; Gauff argued yes.
“It’s a Grand Slam semi-final. Know the rules of the game,” Gauff told the officer.
The 20-year-old American eventually broke with a forehand winner down the line and wagged her fingers to ask for more support from the fans, who gave it her way.
Is the momentum shifting?
No.
Swiatek responded immediately with a four-game streak, and then it was just a matter of closing out the game.
This wasn’t easy. But Swiatek completed the job on his fourth match point when Gauff missed a forehand, prompting chants of “Iga! Iga!” from the stands.
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AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire contributed to this report.
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This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
