Swiatek to meet Gauff in Paris final

Top see Iga Swiatek will meet young American Coco Gauff in the French Open tennis final in Paris.

Iga Swiatek
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Iga Swiatek continued her march towards a second title in three years when she demolished Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-2 6-1 to extend her winning streak to a jaw-dropping 34.

The world number one conceded an early break, but made the most of Kasatkina’s string of unforced errors, peppering court Philippe Chatrier with winners.

Poland’s Swiatek, the 2020 champion, has not lost since February and has matched Serena William’s winning run from 2013, having now lost only two sets in her last four tournaments.

Swiatek again played with a ribbon in the colours of the Ukrainian flag pinned to her hat against her Russian opponent.

Russian and Belarusian players are allowed to compete at Roland Garros but will have to sit out Wimbledon as All England Club officials barred competitors from the two countries due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.

Belarus has been a key staging area for the invasion.

“Pretty special moment. Yeah, I’m really emotional. I’m so grateful to be in this place and you know, be healthy and be able to play my game. It’s amazing and I love playing here,” said Swiatek.

“Right after my first year there was COVID and I was not able to see how many Polish people would come. It’s overwhelming.

“I try to treat every match the same way. When I realise this is one of the biggest matches of the season, it could stress me out.”

Swiatek is looking to become the fourth woman since 2000 – after Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova – to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup twice.

Coco Gauff
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Meanwhile Gauff crushed Italy’s Martina Trevisan 6-3 6-1 to become the youngest French Open finalist in 21 years.

“I am a little bit in shock right. I have no words to describe how I fee right now,” 18 year old Gauff said in an on-court interview. “Honestly, I wasn’t nervous going in today which is a surprise.

“The only time I get a bit nervous is in the morning. I go for a walk and that clears my head.”

Gauff, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament and is the youngest finalist at any Grand Slam in 18 years, needed time to find her range, trading two early breaks each with Trevisan.

Once she found a way to neutralise the left-hander’s punishing forehand, however, Gauff breezed through the first set by winning the last three games.

“I had to be more patient,” Gauff said. “Being American I grew up hitting like this and hitting hard and I had to remind myself this is not the one to attack.

“I played her two years ago I and I lost against her and I know how difficult it is to play against her,” she said,

-Reuters