Coco Gauff Loses To Iga Swiatek At French Open For 2nd Straight Year
Coco Gauff may break through and win a Grand Slam singles title one day, but for now she cannot get past the world No. 1.
For the second straight year, the 19-year-old American fell to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the French Open, losing in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 6-2. Swiatek improved to 7-0 against Gauff.
“After the match, I feel pretty satisfied with my game,” Swiatek told Jon Wertheim of Tennis Channel. “I was happy that I was able to make it in two sets.
“It wasn’t easy, especially with the wind today, but I’m happy I’m into the semifinal.”
It was an improvement over last year’s margin when Swiatek routed Gauff in the final, 6-1, 6-3, for her second Roland Garros and second major title. Swiatek went on to win the U.S. Open last fall for her third major.
She remains the betting favorite to win her third Roland Garros title on Saturday and will next face No. 14 Beatriz Haddad-Maia in the semifinals Thursday. Haddad Maia upset No. 7 Ons Jabeur, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1.
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka will face unseeded Karolina Muchova in the other semifinal.
With Sabalenka reaching the semifinals, Swiatek needs to reach the final to have a chance of staying at No.1.
If Sabalenka reaches the final, Swiatek could hold on to No.1 only by winning the title.
The tournament winner will take home about $2.5 million, while the semifinalists receive $683,698. The runner-up earns $1,248,019.
Swiatek broke Gauff in the 10th game of the first set at love to take the first set.
Swiatek then broke Gauff for a 4-2 lead in the second set with a lob winner that Gauff hit into the net.
Swiatek won the match when Gauff netted a forehand on match point.
Swiatek converted 4-of-5 break points and hit 19 winners against 15 unforced errors while Gauff had 13 winners against 23 unforced errors.
Gauff remains alive in doubles with her partner, Jessica Pegula, the top-ranked American woman in singles who is out of the singles draw. They are into the semifinals.
