Poland’s Iga Swiatek celebrates winning her semifinal match of the French Open tennis tournament against Coco Gauff of the U.S. at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, on June 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP
Iga Swiatek continued her bid for a fourth French Open title on June 6 with a dominant victory over Coco Gauff to reach another final at Roland Garros.
The world number one is just one match away from becoming the first woman to win the tournament in three straight years since Justine Henin in 2007 after a 6-2, 6-4 victory.
“It was intense, in the second set, it was kind of tight because we were breaking each other, but I’m glad I was consistent in my tactics and just went for it in the end,” she said.
Swiatek saved a match point against Naomi Osaka in the second round last week but has barely broken sweat since, losing just 14 games across the next four rounds.
“Something changed, I just adjusted better to the court and it’s not easy to play the first matches at a Grand Slam because the atmosphere is much different to other tournaments,” she added.
“And against Noami it was difficult to get into it because she just went for it… I’ve improved my feel and gained confidence.”
The Pole’s career win-loss record at Roland Garros now stands at a staggering 34-2, while she is on a 20-match winning streak at the event.
The 23-year-old has won all four of her previous Grand Slam finals and will bid to extend that run against either 17-year-old sensation Mirra Andreeva or Jasmine Paolini on Saturday.
Russian Andreeva and Italian 12th seed Paolini meet in the other semi-final later Thursday.
Swiatek hit only 10 winners in an unspectacular display by her high standards, but US Open champion Gauff made 39 unforced errors and was left holding back tears following an argument with the chair umpire.
Top seed Swiatek could become only the fourth woman to win four Roland Garros titles in the Open era — after Henin, Chris Evert and Steffi Graf.
She is also on track to join Serena Williams as the only women to complete the treble of French, Madrid and Rome Open titles in the same year.
Gauff, who will rise to world number two next week, has now lost 11 of her 12 matches against Swiatek, all in straight sets.
That includes three successive defeats at Roland Garros, after last year’s quarter-finals and the 2022 final.
Tearful Gauff
Swiatek, who had three bagel sets across her previous two matches, quickly struck first blood with a break in the…