On Wednesday afternoon, Iga Świątek was facing the young American Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals of the French Open. This match was by far the most difficult for the Pole since the start of the tournament.

Iga started like a rocket, breaking her opponent early (3-1). But Gauff fought back and levelled the score (4-4), forcing the world number 1 to play her best tennis to stay ahead. That is precisely what happened. At 5-4, Świątek put extra pressure on her rival and broke her at the decisive moment, sealing the first set to her advantage (6-4). 

At the beginning of the second set, Coco Gauff resisted well to Iga’s aggressive shots (2-2). Yet once Iga managed to break, the point of no return was reached and the Varsovian finished the job with authority (6-2) in one hour and a half. 

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The Pole will now face the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia for a place in the final. Haddad Maia eliminated the Tunisian Ons Jabeur after a sensational match. She will have nothing to lose during her semi-final against “1GA”, which can make her all the more dangerous.

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Nevertheless, the level of tennis and confidence that Świątek is displaying once again at Roland Garros makes her likely to reach another final in Paris, where she could face her runner-up in the WTA ranking, Aryna Sabalenka. The latter will first have to beat Karolina Muchova, another sensation of the tournament. 

In other words, a fantastic final between the two best players in the world may await us this weekend!

Image: Twitter (@UniversTennis)

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen