Iga Swiatek overwhelms Coco Gauff to reach third straight French Open final

PARIS – When Iga Swiatek escaped defeat and beat Japanese star Naomi Osaka in a thrilling second-round French Open match, she could not hide her emotions and cried uncontrollably.

Something in the world No. 1 changed from there onwards. The Pole knew she had to pick herself up, and battle her way through regardless of the difficulties she may face.

On June 6, the defending champion took a big step towards a third successive Roland Garros title by dismantling teary American third seed Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4 in the semi-finals, and stretch her winning streak in Paris to 20 matches.

Her career win-loss record at the French Open now stands at a staggering 34-2. 

The four-time Grand Slam champion also extended her dominance over Gauff by sealing an 11th victory in 12 meetings and will head into the final on June 8 against Italian 12th seed Jasmine Paolini, who crushed 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 6-1.

“For sure something changed. I adjusted better to the court,” said Swiatek, who has lost only 14 games in four matches since defeating Osaka. “It’s not easy to play the first matches on a Grand Slam because the atmosphere is much different.

“Against Naomi I didn’t have time to get into it. She was intense from the beginning and put pressure on me. I’m happy I handled it well.

“After that the weather changed. It helps my game I feel. I just gained confidence I would say.”

She drew first blood by breaking in the opening game of the contest, and the top seed fought off break points in her next two service games before tightening her grip.

Having dropped the first set following an error, Gauff wiped away tears while up 2-1 in the second after an argument with the umpire over a contentious line call. But the US Open champion recovered to break for the first time.

However, Swiatek struck back immediately before holding and breaking to surge to a 4-3 lead with a powerful winner as victory appeared in sight for the 23-year-old at her favourite hunting ground.

Soaking up the applause at a sun-drenched Court Philippe-Chatrier, Swiatek secured the win on serve and equalled her 18-match winning streak on the sport’s slowest surface between Stuttgart and Warsaw in 2022.

Swiatek, who won her first Slam at Roland Garros in 2020 before doing it again in 2022 and 2023, could become only the fourth woman to clinch four French Open titles in the Open era – after Justine Henin, Chris Evert and Steffi Graf.

She is also on track to join tennis great Serena Williams as the only women to complete the treble of French, Madrid and Rome Open titles in the same year.

The 2022 US Open winner had kind words for world No. 3 Gauff – who lost the 2022 French Open final to Swiatek.

“I think she’s progressing a lot. You can see by her results. Last year’s US Open showed she’s tough,” said Swiatek of the 20-year-old.

“At this age it’s kind of obvious she’s gonna just grow. I’m sure we’ll have plenty more intense matches at the highest level.

“Coco is one of the most consistent players out there.”

Meanwhile, men’s world No. 1 Novak Djokovic has confirmed that he had an operation on his injured right knee, but gave no timeframe for his return.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion was forced to withdraw on June 4 ahead of his quarter-final against Casper Ruud, after a scan revealed a torn medial meniscus.

“I’m still processing it all but I am happy to update you that the surgery went well,” he posted on social media.

The Serb made no mention of whether he would be fit to take part at Wimbledon, which begins on July 1, but added that he was going to “do my best to be healthy and fit to return to the court as soon as possible”.

The 37-year-old’s exit from the tournament also means that second-ranked Jannik Sinner – who has made it to the semi-finals where he will face Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz – will become Italy’s first singles world No. 1 in the sport on June 10. REUTERS, AFP