By Coco Gauff ran into a familiar problem in Thursday’s French Open semifinals: Iga Swiatek.
The 20-year old American star struggled once again with her biggest nemesis on the WTA Tour in a 6-2, 6-4 loss.Despite playing well throughout the tournament, Gauff was fighting two trends in this matchup: Her own record against Swiatek and the world No. 1’s dominance on this surface in particular.
Swiatek has owned this head-to-head, winning 10 of their 11 previous meetings with Gauff’s lone win coming on a hard court last summer in Cincinnati. Swiatek eliminated Gauff from the French Open the last two years, including the 2022 final.
Plus, while Gauff enjoys playing on red clay and has posted good results throughout her career, Swiatek is simply dominant on the surface with three Roland Garros titles already. This season, Swiatek took significant titles in Madrid and Rome while losing just one clay court match in the Stuttgart final.
Gauff came out this time with an aggressive mindset in an attempt to rush Swiatek’s ground strokes and win the battle of court position. That tactic helped earn break points in Swiatek’s first two service games, but Gauff’s inability to convert put her under immediate pressure. Swiatek subsequently cruised to the first set.
Gauff, the reigning US Open champion, will own a career high ranking of No. 2 on Monday. Thursday was her third consecutive Grand Slam semifinal appearance.
