CINCINNATI, Ohio — No.7 Coco Gauff advanced to her first WTA 1000 final after defeating No.1 Iga Swiatek 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4 in the Western & Southern Open semifinals on Saturday. The victory is Gauff’s first over Swiatek, having lost their seven prior meetings.
Gauff will face either No.2 Aryna Sabalenka or French Open finalist Karolina Muchova in Sunday’s final. Gauff is the seventh teenager to make a WTA 1000 final, joining Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, Belinda Bencic, Jelena Ostapenko, Bianca Andreescu and Swiatek.
Three takeaways from Gauff’s resilient victory:
Gauff laid the groundwork in Paris: In their eighth career meeting, Gauff came into Saturday’s showdown looking not just for her first win over Swiatek but her first set against the Pole. Swiatek held a 7-0 advantage in their head-to-head, having won all 14 sets they played. Their last meeting came at Roland Garros, where Gauff played one of her best matches against the World No.1 only to lose 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
Gauff built on that potential game plan on Saturday. Having shored up her serve and forehand since Wimbledon, Gauff stayed with Swiatek from the baseline and protected her forehand wing well. Importantly, Gauff backed herself and played fearless tennis when it mattered.
Swiatek played a steady first set and capitalized on a weak service game from the American to earn a chance to serve out the set at 5-3. Gauff refused to let the thoughts of another missed opportunity enter her mind. She played an aggressive game to break Swiatek to get back on serve. When Swiatek earned a chance to close the set two games later, holding two set points as Gauff served to force the tiebreak, Gauff escaped again with the help of a gutsy baseline overhead winner.
In the tiebreak, Gauff went on lockdown. Swiatek made three unforced errors to give Gauff an insurmountable 4-0 lead and the 19-year-old let out a defiant roar after sealing her first set in fifteen tries. Swiatek misfired on 21 unforced errors in the opening set. Gauff also held her to just 6 winners while tallying 10 of her own.
Swiatek problem-solves again: For much of the match, Swiatek’s devastating forehand was difficult to control. It is the shot that has been the difference-maker in their last seven meetings, but after dropping the first set with a slew of errors, Swiatek smartly dialed things back.
After making over 20 errors in the first set, Swiatek made just 8 in the second set. She leveled out her forehand by giving it more margin and bigger targets, while using her backhand to control the court. Swiatek also worked to shorten rallies by coming into the net.
Despite all the adjustments, Swiatek still struggled with her break point chances. She generated 14 break points in the match but broke Gauff’s serve just four times. Gauff deserves much of the credit for those saves, as she backed herself, particularly in the third set, and went for her big serves.
Gauff hung tough down the stretch: Swiatek went into the final set with momentum but Gauff refused to let her run away with the match. Neither player saw a break point in the first six games of the set but Swiatek had a fantastic opportunity with Gauff serving at 3-2, 30-all. In a corner-to-corner rally from both players, Gauff snuffed out Swiatek’s chance with a clutch backhand winner and then broke Swiatek in the next game.
Swiatek fought back in the next game, winning three straight points from 4-3, 40-0 down to keep the pressure on Gauff and earn a break-back point. Gauff snuffed out the comeback with the help of three unreturnable serves to hold.
Serving for the win at 5-4, Gauff called upon her resilience again. After Swiatek gamely saved three match points and earned a break point of her own, Gauff held her off to close out the win on her fourth match point after 2 hours and 50 minutes.
Swiatek finished the match with 27 winners and 46 unforced errors. Gauff hit 18 winners to 37 unforced errors and saved 10 of 14 break points.