The reigning champion, Iga Swiatek, solidified her path towards gaining her third consecutive title at the French Open, as she impressively defeated America’s Coco Gauff, who displayed visible emotions, with scores of 6-2 6-4 during the semi-final on Thursday. This victory aligns with Swiatek’s strongest winning sequence on clay surfaces.
The Polish sportswoman, who has four Grand Slam titles under her belt, further established her supremacy over Gauff, marking her 11th win out of their 12 encounters. She now eyes a Saturday clash against either Jasmine Paolini, the 12th seeded player, or the promising 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva.
Swiatek gave her fans reason to cheer in the opening rounds of the game as she broke Gauff down through delicate forehand strategies. Our reigning queen then efficiently warded off break points in her subsequent two service games, before further firming her hold on the game.
Gauff showed her despair after losing the initial set due to a mistake. She was found wiping tear during the 2-1 lead in the second set, following a dispute with the umpire regarding a dubious line call. Nevertheless, this US Open champion regained her footing to complete her first successful break against Swiatek.
Swiatek, however, promptly countered and then maintained her hold, breaking again in her path to taking a 4-3 lead, thanks to a strong-winning shot. With this, her strongly anticipated 20th straight win at Roland Garros seemed like a foreseeable dream for the 23-year-old on her preferred clay court.
As she received acclaim at the sun-bathed Court Philippe-Chatrier, Swiatek, with her exemplary tenure at Madrid and Rome, accomplished her win on serve, thereby matching her earlier 18-match winning sequence on slow surface games delivered between Stuttgart and Warsaw in 2022.
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