Iga Świątek advanced to her fourth French Open final with an impressive 6-2 6-4 win over Coco Gauff on Thursday. The Polish tennis sensation is now the clear favorite to secure her fifth grand slam title this weekend, as she extends her unbeaten streak to 18 matches in all competitions and 20 at Roland Garros. With her latest victory over Gauff, Świątek has now emerged victorious in 11 of their last 12 encounters. In the upcoming final on Saturday, Świątek has the opportunity to claim her third consecutive French Open title, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished by a woman since Justine Henin in 2007.
Reflecting on her intense match against Gauff, the 23-year-old expressed her satisfaction in her post-match interview, saying, “It was definitely a high-pressure match. The second set was quite tight as we were breaking each other’s serves. I’m pleased that I stuck to my game plan, didn’t overthink things, and just went for it in the end.”
Świątek faced a tougher challenge in her match against Gauff, a rematch of the 2022 French Open final. Despite this, she maintained control for a significant portion of the one-hour, 37-minute contest on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
The world No. 1 made a strong start, breaking Gauff’s serve in the opening game and again at 3-1 to establish a commanding lead in the first set. She quickly sealed the set when Gauff’s forehand return landed in the net.
In the second set, there was a highly charged moment as Gauff became visibly emotional while arguing with the chair umpire over a call. However, she managed to break Świątek’s serve a few points later, taking a 3-1 lead.
Nevertheless, the defending champion responded brilliantly, winning the next four games in a row to secure a 5-3 advantage. From there, victory was well within her reach.
Despite her valiant efforts, Gauff was unable to mount a comeback in the semifinal as Świątek secured the victory with a stray forehand, after saving three match points in the previous two games.
In the other semifinal on Thursday, Paolini dominated the match against the 17-year-old Russian, Andreeva, winning 6-3 6-1 and securing her spot in her first grand slam final.
This achievement makes Paolini the first Italian woman to reach a grand slam final since Roberta Vinci at the 2015 US Open, according to Opta. Both Paolini and Andreeva were making their first appearance in the final four of a major tournament.