PremiumFrench Open 2024: The Iga Swiatek juggernaut is unstoppable as she steamrolls Coco Gauff
Iga Swiatek is one step away from a fourth title win at the French after trouncing Coco Gauff in the first semi-final
Last Updated: 08.41 PM, Jun 06, 2024
Coco Cauff’s head-to-head record against Iga Swiatek is abysmal to say the least. She’d won only 1 out of 11, and if she had any hopes of bettering that, well, Swiatek dashed those early on in their semi-final match in the French Open at Roland Garros. Gauff came with an aggressive match plan, but that resulted in a lot of errors, which helped the World No.1 Swiatek pocket the first set 6-2 soon enough.
The second, though, went slightly different with the players breaking each other. Emotions were flying high, at least for Gauff, who fought tears after a certain line call didn’t go her way. And then, in just over an hour, Gauff was serving to stay in the match. After leading 3-1 in the second set, on her serve, Gauff gave Swiatek her first match point. She fought it off, almost swung the game her way twice, but then gave Swiatek a second match point.
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At the end of the 11-minute game, Gauff was still in the reckoning at 4-5, with Swiatek serving for game, set and match. Swiatek eventually advanced to her third straight, and fourth overall, French Open final on her fourth match point, when a Gauff return went wide. She will now face the winner of the Jasmine Paolini vs Mirra Andreeva semi-final on June 8.
Speaking to Mats Wilander after the match, Swiatek said, “It was an intense match, especially in the second set, but I am happy that I was consistent with my tactics and didn’t overthink stuff and just went for it.”
As for Gauff’s progress as a player, she added, “She’s progressing a lot, which is evident in the results. Last year’s US Open showed that she is tough and I think at this age it is obvious that she will grow. It is nice to see her handling everything around her well, which is not easy. I am sure we willhave plenty more really intense matches on the highest level because Gauff is one of the consistent players out there.”