After losing to Iga Swiatek 7 times in a row, Coco Gauff finally got her first win over the number one player at the 2023 Cincinnati Masters.
Swiatek has been utterly dominant against Coco Gauff in the past, winning all 14 sets they played on the WTA Tour. Some matches were less critical than others, but the consistency by which the Polish player outplayed her opponent remained.
Today was a different story, quite a bit different. We saw a very competitive, close match with both players taking turns in who was the more dominant. The opening set predominantly featured Swiatek on top as she was up a break twice but failed to serve out the set.
It ended in a tiebreak, which Swiatek, who ended her last match in a long conversation with umpire, played poorly with too many errors. It was a familiar sight, as she's been struggling with that for a while now. She's winning, but her wins don't look as dominant as they looked a year ago.
It was an unfortunate end to the set for number one as she wasted two set points up 6-5. The second set saw her respond in a pretty convincing fashion. She took an early break and was able to hold it for the rest of the set. The final set opened with both players holding their nerve without any issues early.
Swiatek was pretty solid attacking on her own serve but struggled greatly on return. Gauff was doing a solid job of not allowing her chances immediately off the serve, while in the rallies she managed to force Swiatek to hit one more shot.
Considering how unstable Swiatek has been in rallies so far in the event, it was a decent tactic. The result came as the Polish player hit one too many errors giving Gauff the lead. Confirming the break was tough, there were break chances, but timely serving proved crucial.
Swiatek did not have a consistent response to the serve, especially when she needed it. The final score ended up being 7-6(2) 3-6 6-4 for Gauff, who advanced to the 2023 Cincinnati Masters final. She recently joked about her match being an opening act, but it certainly wasn't today.
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