After losing to Coco Gauff the last time they played, Iga Swiatek returned to business as usual, beating the American at the 2023 China Open in Beijing.
Gauff and Swiatek played many times before this match and until Cincinnati earlier this year, it was the Polish player who dominated. She simply outplayed Gauff in every single match but couldn't quite get it done on US soil.
She did in Beijing, though, outplaying her comfortably to snap the American's winning streak and improve to an 8-1 against her. It wasn't a good match from Gauff, whose hitting problems crept up once more against a super clean one like Swiatek.
There is only one way for Gauff to beat Swiatek and that's to grind her into the ground as she racks up the mistakes. If Swiatek produced a good and clean effort from the baseline then there is very little that Gauff can do.
It became evident pretty early in this one that Gauff didn't have it today as Swiatek jumped out to an early 4-1 lead. She continued dominating and finished off the opening set 6-2, mainly thanks to her baseline play. She was consistently outplaying Gauff in the rallies.
Swiatek took an early break in the final set as well, and Gauff requested a medical timeout. She would continue the match after it but didn't really do too much as her opponent was cruising. Swiatek expected a tight match, but it really wasn't. She dominated from start to finish and secured her spot in the final.
The final score was 6-2 6-3, a really solid win as she awaits Elena Rybakina or Liudmila Samsonova in the final. When it comes to Gauff, she's scheduled to play next week, but we'll see if she will, considering the medical timeout and potential injury. The WTA Finals are also around the corner.
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