By Tony Fairbairn
- Every Swiatek [1] v Coco Gauff [3]
- Jasmine Paolini [12] v Mirra Andreeva
PARIS, FRANCE – Coco Gauff is looking to achieve a rare victory over world number one Iga Swiatek when they meet in the semifinals of Roland Garros.
Every Swiatek [1] v Coco Gauff [3] | H2H: Swiatek leads 10-1
After saving a match point in the second round match against Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek has been in tears during the Roland Garros draw as he has lost just eight games in his last three. The world number one has been in incredible form and is now the favorite to win his third consecutive Roland Garros title and fourth overall. The next player to try to stop the Polish player was the US Open champion Coco Gauff after he recovered from being behind to losing Jabeur us and reached his second Roland Garros semifinal.
H2H & Match Basics
| Every Swiatek [1] v Coco Gauff [3] | H2H: Swiatek leads 10-1 |
| Roland Garros 2024 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €650,000 |
| Second place to Philippe Chatrier (Not before 14:00 BST) | Discovery+ Extras via Amazon Prime
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Swiatek dominated at Roland Garros as she went on to sweep the competition after saving match point in her second round.
The world number one’s main rival is now gone and the Pole will believe he is the favorite to win a fifth Grand Slam title.
But underestimate Gauff as the American has been impressive for most of the tournament, gradually starting to show her best form.
Now the American will try to break his curse on the Pole as he bids to reach his second Roland Garros final.
Speaking after his quarter-final win against Marketa Vondrousova, Swiatek feels everything is going well at the moment and will not change her routine from her previous meeting against Gauff.
“Honestly, I think it all worked out. “I felt I served better than in the previous round, so this gave me an extra boost in confidence,” said Swiatek on the Roland Garros website.
“Overall, I felt like I played quite hard. I can just play my game and use my tactics and not think too much about anything. I’m glad I stayed focused because sometimes I feel like the game is very intense and sometimes the intensity drops a little, so I want to really play my game no matter what Marketa comes with. I feel like I’m in the zone today.
“[It will be] just like before any other match. You don’t want to change your routine. It’s good to move on and not think of this match as something big, but just another match that doesn’t put too much weight on your shoulders.
“Against Coco, it wasn’t easy. He really loves playing on clay, especially here. I will just focus on myself.”
Meanwhile, Gauff talked about how her aggressive level of play led to the win and how important consistency is in big tournaments.
“If my level doesn’t rise, then I deserve to lose. I knew I had to raise my level… I started playing more aggressively and not letting her dictate to me off the court,” Gauff told the WTA website.
“It means a lot to me. I’ve been trying to get better and be consistent in big tournaments, and I’m achieving that level of consistency. [I’m]]very happy to reach the semifinals. Everyone knows I want to keep going.”
Swiatek will look to maintain the aggression of her serve as she looks to dictate play from the baseline, not giving Gauff time to choose her shots.
Meanwhile, Gauff will try to get closer to the net to finish points efficiently as she must avoid losing concentration.
A fast start to the match is necessary for Gauff to establish her authority in the contest, otherwise this match could get ugly very quickly for the American.
Prediction: Swiatek two straight sets.
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Jasmine Paolini [12] v Mirra Andreeva | H2H: Andreeva leads 1-0
One of the greatest wins courtesy of Jasmine Paolini career against Elena Rybakina meaning the Italian advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal. 12th The seed has shown strong form in the doubles recently and now at Roland Garros Paolini has translated that form to the singles court as he looks to continue his dream run to the final. Standing in Paolini’s way was Mirra Andreeva as the 17-year-old is the youngest Grand Slam semifinalist in 27 years after stunning the world number two Aryna Sabalenka in three sets.
H2H & Match Basics
| Jasmine Paolini [12] v Mirra Andreeva | H2H: Andreeva leads 1-0 |
| Roland Garros 2024 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €650,000 |
| Third on Philippe Chatrier (Not before 15:30 BST) | Discovery+ Extras via Amazon Prime
Sign up for a 30-day free trial of Prime Video and a 7-day free trial of Discovery+ Player |
Paolini’s impressive doubles form has translated into singles form as the Italian beat Rybakina to reach the last four of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career.
Now Paolini wants to continue his impressive form while aiming for more history in Paris.
Talking about history, Andreeva stood in Paolini’s way to the final as the 17-year-old was the youngest Grand Slam semifinalist in 27 years.
Andreeva capitalized on an under-par Sabalenka to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final and now hopes this sets the stage for a very promising future.
After reaching the semifinals, Paolini admitted it was an extraordinary feeling to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Paolini told the Roland Garros website.
“It was a very difficult match. I think I was too emotional in the second set, but then I said to myself ‘OK, he’s a great champion so it can happen.’ Just fight, try to stay there, try to hit every ball and it works – I’m here.”
Meanwhile, Andreeva talked about her tennis intelligence and admitted that she forgot the score in the point up match.
“I saw the game, I just played wherever I wanted, I didn’t even have a plan. When I see open space, I try to attack there,” Andreeva told the Roland Garros website.
“My coach and I had a plan for today, but I don’t remember anything during the game. I just try to play according to my feelings. I forgot the final score, I just tried to stay focused. On my second match point, I imagined I was trying to save a break point. I tried to play bravely and I managed to win.”
Paolini would continue to use his sharp movement to his advantage as he extended rallies and capitalized on the short balls that came his way.
Meanwhile Andreeva will continue to create angles on the backhand side as she will use variations to expose Paolini’s court position.
Both players will be nervous as there is a lot at stake but Andreeva’s bravery and tactical depth should weigh on Paolini in this tough match.
Prediction: Andreeva in three sets.
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