Iga Swiatek drops truth bomb on facing Coco Gauff in French Open semis

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek is ready for another showdown with rising American star Coco Gauff in the French Open semifinals after both scored impressive victories Tuesday.

The defending champion at Roland Garros, Swiatek extended her winning streak in Paris to 19 matches with a dominant 6-0, 6-2 victory over 2019 finalist Marketa Vondrousova. The 23-year-old Pole has looked unstoppable, dropping just 11 total games in her other four matches aside from a tough second-round win over Naomi Osaka.

“Everything worked. I feel like I’ve been serving better than in previous rounds, so that gave me an extra boost of confidence,” Swiatek said, as reported by the Associated Press. “I could just play my game and really go with my tactics and not really overthink anything.”

Awaiting Swiatek in the semifinals is the 20-year-old Gauff, who battled past Ons Jabeur 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to reach her third consecutive Grand Slam semifinal. The No. 3 seed trailed early but ramped up her aggression down the stretch to overcome the No. 8 seed Tunisian.

“My favorite thing about Coco is her fighting spirit. I think she’s playing great tennis right now, but I saw her playing better before,” Jabeur said. “Obviously she’s such a fighter. She always tries to find ways. She’s really smart on the court.”

Swiatek knows all too well about Gauff’s resilience, having faced the American 11 times already in her young career with a 10-1 head-to-head advantage. That lone loss came in the 2022 French Open final when Gauff pushed Swiatek to her limits before falling 6-1, 6-3.

“It’s good to just keep going and not think about this match as something huge – just another match – to not put too much baggage on your shoulders,” Swiatek said. “But I guess Coco is not easy. She really likes playing on clay, especially here. I’ll just focus on myself and I’ll prepare tactically and we’ll see.”

Coco Gauff has some shaky moments vs. Ons Jabeur