Iga Swiatek was the huge favorite against Coco Gauff in the 2024 Roland Garros semi-final, and she dominated the match to win it in two sets.
The American has a clear problem in the matchup with Swiatek: She cannot beat her from the baseline which is how the most that can beat her, beat her. She's not a natural hitter like the Pole, which is why she lost 10 of the 11 matches she played against her prior to their semi-final meeting in Paris.
Their most recent match before this one was in Rome, and it was a competitive match, which fans hoped to see in the French capital as well. It was fairly competitive compared to regular matches that Swiatek plays, but it still wasn't that close.
If you're Gauff, you want to win this match, not keep it competitive, and she wasn't particularly close to winning it. The opening set was an easy 6-2 win for Swiatek, who was still fairly timid.
She didn't take over the match because her 20-year-old opponent was the one looking to end things on her terms. She attacked and hit plenty of winners but totaled 18 unforced errors in only 8 games of play.
Gauff directly decided 30 points in that opening set, but the ratio wasn't good enough. Swiatek smartly sat back and let it all unfold while remaining pretty solid. The 2023 US Open winner found a bit of an opening in the second set, taking a 3-1 lead after a few solid rallies.
The problem was that she didn't keep it, getting broken immediately and, even worse, getting broken once more to fall behind 3-4. That was the crucial sequence that allowed Swiatek to win the match and, more importantly, keep it in two sets.
Gauff's outing was fairly solid, but it was still not good enough for Swiatek, who will try to win a fifth Grand Slam on Saturday after winning this match 6-2, 6-4.
Iga Swiatek vs Coco Gauff Match Stats:
| Iga Swiatek | 6-2, 6-4 | Coco Gauff |
| 0 | Aces | 3 |
| 0 | Double Faults | 4 |
| 68% | First Serve % | 52% |
| 64% (29/45) | Points Won After First Serve % | 70% (23/33) |
| 67% (14/21) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 32% (10/31) |
| 57% (4/7) | Break Point Conversion | 25% (1/4) |
| 10 | Winners | 27 |
| 14 | Unforced Errors | 39 |
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