The three-time champion is one win from a rare Paris three-peat
©️Nicolas Gouhier / FFTAt Roland-Garros, Iga Swiatek’s reputation precedes her. With each passing year it becomes more apparent that the three-time champion’s well-cultivated aura casts an ever-growing shadow over those who wish to dethrone her on the fabled terre battue.
Such was the case on a sun-splashed Thursday afternoon in Paris as Coco Gauff tried but could not escape the looming darkness that the 23-year-old can create in the minds of her adversaries.
Gauff made inroads at times but ultimately was unable to crack the code of the Polish juggernaut, who secured a 6-2, 6-4 triumph, locking down her 20th consecutive victory on the Parisian clay and improving to 34-2 overall at her favourite stomping ground.
Top-seeded Swiatek, who has now won 11 of 12 meetings against 20-year-old Gauff (including all ten sets they have played on clay, and all six they have played in Paris), will play for her fourth title in Saturday’s final, against either Jasmine Paolini or Mirra Andreeva.
Gauff was ultra aggressive in the opening set but her inability to find her range sabotaged her best interests. Perhaps it was the feeling that she needed to be perfect to win points. Perhaps it was the nerves of facing the world No.1 on the court she has dominated like no other active woman.
Though the crowd willed her on, Gauff was unable to find her range and missed badly off the forehand wing too often to mount a charge. She had break points in Swiatek’s first two service games, but the Pole was up to the task, calmly playing to her strength as Gauff struggled to locate hers.
"I think it was the execution that I didn't do well on," Gauff said after the match. "I had a couple of break points early in the first set to break back. I made errors, a lot of short ball errors.
"I think for the most part I do think I had the right idea, but I think I just made too many errors."
Swiatek eventually raced away with proceedings, opening up a 5-1 lead and closing the stanza two games later.
Gauff altered tactics in the second set, going for more trajectory and depth as she attempted to loft balls to Swiatek’s backhand wing. The change paid dividends at times.
Gauff also found motivation in another form: when she felt she was wronged by a call in the fourth game of the set, she argued vehemently when umpire Arelie Tourte handed Swiatek a point and denied the American a do-over.
She didn't get the call, but she did get the break.
Miffed, Gauff retreated from the umpire’s chair, directed her aggression into the ball and broke for 3-1.
Like most deficits Swiatek has encountered during the Parisian fortnight – most notably the match point she saved against Naomi Osaka during the final set of their thrilling second-round encounter – this one was short-lived. The Pole kicked into overdrive and snapped through the next four games to lead 5-3.
Gauff saved a trio of match points in the next two games but ultimately a poised and powerful Swiatek squashed the rally, completing her victory in one hour and 37 minutes.
In the last three seasons Gauff has been knocked out by the eventual champion in Paris. Will Swiatek follow through and make it four?
Swiatek played an intelligent match, hitting 10 winners against 14 unforced errors, while Gauff managed 27 winners against 39 unforced errors. Gauff’s well-documented struggles on the forehand continued as Swiatek directed traffic to the American’s weaker wing. Gauff hit four forehand winners and 18 unforced errors from that side.
Swiatek impressively won 14 of 21 second-serve points (67 per cent), while Gauff only managed to win 10 of 31 of her second-serve points (32 per cent). The Pole broke serve four times from seven opportunities, and saved three of the four break points she faced.
By winning her 20th consecutive match in Paris, Swiatek ties legend Steffi Graff for the fourth-longest winning streak by a woman on the terre battue. Only Chris Evert (29), Monica Seles (25) and Justine Henin (24) have done better.
The preposterous milestones keep rolling in for Swiatek.
If Swiatek wins the title she would be the fourth player to win a Roland-Garros women’s singles title after saving a match point during the tournament, joining Anastasia Myskina (2004), Justine Henin (2005) and Barbora Krejcikova (2021).
She also has become the second-youngest player in the Open era to make four Roland-Garros finals, older only than six-time champion Steffi Graf in 1990.
The Polish powerhouse is now the fourth player in the Open era to win her first four Roland-Garros semi-finals after Chris Evert, Steff Graf and Martina Navratilova, and the third player since 2000 to make three consecutive Roland-Garros women's singles finals after Justine Henin (2005-07) and Maria Sharapova (2012-14).
Swiatek is into her fifth major final – she won the previous four.
On the match: “For sure it was intense. In the second set it was kind of tight because we were breaking each other, but I’m happy that I was consistent with my tactics – I didn’t overthink stuff and I just went for it at the end.”
On Gauff: “I think she’s progressing a lot. You can see by her results. Last year’s US Open showed for sure that she’s tough. I think at this age, it’s obvious that she’s going to grow, so it’s great to see her handling everything around her so well – I’m sure we’re going to have plenty more really intense matches at the highest level because Coco is one of the most consistent players out there.”
On her tennis after surviving match point against Osaka in the second round: “For sure something changed. I would say I just adjusted better to the court. It’s not easy to play the first matches on a Grand Slam because the atmosphere is much different than it is in other tournaments. I guess with Naomi I didn’t have time to get into it.
"It was intense from the beginning and she put pressure on me, so I’m happy that I handled it well. After that the weather changed also and it helps my game. I just gained confidence.”
On being compared to her idol Rafael Nadal: "We'll see in 14 years if the journey is similar. I mean, that's obviously really nice for me. I would never expect anybody to compare me to Rafa because for me he's above everybody, and he's a total legend. Yeah, as I said, we'll see in couple of years, but I'm proud of myself that I'm playing consistently here and that I'm mentioned in the same sentence as Rafa. That's cool."
On her feelings about her evolving tactics: "I actually didn't feel like uncomfortable today. I did make more errors than I'm used to, but I mean, I feel like I have to know that I'm developing and I'm changing the way that I played. When I started on tour, I was a lot, I guess, weaker than everybody, younger. I had to play a certain way to win.
"Now if I want to transcend to the next level, there's a different way to play."
On closing the gap with Swiatek: "I have to be positive and believe in myself. Today I felt very confident going into the match. I know that there are things that I can improve to make this a closer score line."
“That adrenaline with that controversy was exactly what she may have needed to turn this match around.” – Andrea Petkovic, after Gauff’s argument with umpire Aurelie Tourte in the second set.
“A solid, smart match against a very tricky opponent.” – Lindsay Davenport on Swiatek’s performance.
“I think it’s important that Coco keeps trying new tactics, and I think she will have another lesson from this match, but we can’t forget how solid, how consistent and how well in the end Iga Swiatek played.
“She is the world No.1, she is the best player at Roland-Garros and she is the player to beat. I do think Gauff’s game plan was the right thing to try. When you are down 1-10 in the head-to-head you have to try something new, but this was another amazing performance by Iga Swiatek and I just can repeat myself by saying it’s incredible to watch her from so close up.” – Andrea Petkovic, on the match.
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
