Iga Swiatek, the top-seeded player in the world, defeated Coco Gauff to advance to the French Open final and take a step closer to winning a third straight title at Roland Garros. In the final on Saturday, Swiatek, 23, will take on Italian 12th seed Jasmine Paolini. Swiatek, 23, broke Gauff in the opening game of the match and, aside from briefly losing serve in the second set, maintained control to win 6-2 6-4. Gauff, ranked third, saved three match points before Swiatek sealed the victory. The 20-year-old American has now lost 11 of her 12 matches against the world-ranked player. “It was intense, especially in the second set but I’m happy,” Swiatek said. “I stuck with my tactics, didn’t overthink things and just went for it.” Paolini, 28, defeated unseeded.
Swiatek and Gauff were going to depart Roland Garros as the top two women’s players in the world, regardless of what transpired between them.
However, the result once more demonstrated how different they are from one another.
After defeating three-time major finalist Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinals of the US Open, US Open champion Gauff spoke confidently, stating that she had “nothing to lose” and that Swiatek was under pressure.
That was not the case in reality. Gauff suffered the price for appearing nervous from the beginning.
In the rallies, Swiatek attempted to land powerfully with her forehand, but a string of mistakes from that side did most of the job for her.
