By Tony Fairbairn
- Iga Swiatek [1] v Daria Kasatkina [20]
- Coco Gauff [18] v Martina Trevisan
PARIS, FRANCE – Iga Swiatek remains firm favourite for the Roland Garros title ahead of the women’s singles semi-finals on day 12.
[table “ADPDAll” not found /]
Iga Swiatek [1] v Daria Kasatkina [20] | Swiatek leads 3-1
Iga Swiatek remains the firm favourite to win her second Roland Garros title having decimated the rest of the field and entering the semi-finals on a 33 match winning streak. Standing in her way is Daria Kasatkina who is making use of her favourite surface and an open draw to reach her first grand slam semi-final.
H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Iga Swiatek [1] v Daria Kasatkina [20] | H2H: Swiatek leads 3-1 |
| Roland Garros | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €600,000 |
| Second on Court Philippe-Chatrier (14:00 BST) | Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime
Sign up for 30 day free trial of Prime Video and a 7-day free trial of Discovery+ Player |
World number one Swiatek continues her unstoppable form as she looks for a sixth consecutive title at Roland Garros and enters her semi-final looking for a 34th consecutive victory.
Swiatek has only dropped one set on her way to the last four and won’t even have had to play a top ten player on her way to the title should she claim her second grand slam title in Paris. First Swiatek will have to overcome Kasatkina in the semi-finals who will be competing in her first grand slam semi-final.
The Russian is yet to drop a set as she has taken her form from Rome into Roland Garros and now plays her second consecutive semi-final.
Heading into the match Swiatek is trying to avoid being over-confident and hopes to use her experience to her advantage, “I want to use the experience that I have and also I know her game style pretty well and I know how her strokes how I feel them on my racquet, so that’s pretty positive,” the Pole told the WTA website.
“But I don’t really want to become overconfident. I don’t think it’s going to happen because still it’s semi-final of a Grand Slam and she really deserves with her game to be here. Because I feel like she’s playing even more solid than she was and she already played really solid.”
As for Kasatkina she is very happy to be in her first grand slam semi-final but admits a massive challenge awaits her in the last four, “Everything happens for the first time and I’m really happy to be in the semis,” Kasatkina told the WTA website.
“Tomorrow is another mountain in front of me which I have to climb. Maybe it’s even better that I don’t have much time to think about how good [it] is to be in the semifinals, so I have another battle tomorrow. So it’s going to be a completely different match. I want to win a lot, she wants to win as well, and it’s going to be a good match.”
Swiatek will look to play her free-flowing best with a mix of variety and power to neutralise the points and be aggressive. Kasatkina will need to serve well, be more aggressive and be clinical on her opportunities to have a chance.
The match is on the world number one’s racket and the Pole is heavy favourite heading into this match from a tactical and experience point of view. If the pressure gets to Swiatek then Kasatkina has a chance to take advantage but it will be a difficult match for the Russian to dictate the state of the match.
Prediction: Swiatek in straight sets.
Coco Gauff [18] v Martina Trevisan | Trevisan leads 1-0
Coco Gauff has turned her form around over the past two weeks and the young American now stands one win away from a maiden grand slam final at the age of 18. Standing in Gauff’s way is in-form Martina Trevisan with the Italian continuing her form from winning the Rabat title to reach her maiden grand slam semi-final.
H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Coco Gauff [18] v Martina Trevisan | H2H: Trevisan leads 1-0 |
| Roland Garros | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €600,000 |
| Third on Court Philippe-Chatrier (15:30 BST) | Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime
Sign up for 30 day free trial of Prime Video and a 7-day free trial of Discovery+ Player |
After being talked and hyped as WTA’s next big star, Gauff is into her first grand slam semi-final on the clay courts of Paris. The 18 year-old has failed to find consistency and form since her breakthrough at Wimbledon a few years ago but now Gauff is delivering when it matters most and is looking to reach tennis’ pinnacle and win her maiden grand slam in her teenage years.
Standing in Gauff’s way is Italian Trevisan who has gone one step further than she did two years ago and is now into her first grand slam semi-final. After overcoming anorexia and finding form late in her career, Trevisan is now enjoying the best spell of her career and is looking to seize the opportunity of a lifetime in Paris.
Ahead of the clash Gauff admits she is enjoying the moment and not looking too far ahead as she approaches the biggest match of her career, “It’s important that you have high hopes for yourself, but also, at the same time, it’s important to be in reality and I think that’s where I am,” Gauff told the WTA website.
“I’m in reality where I’m enjoying the moment and enjoying the situation. I’m in reality where I’m enjoying the moment and enjoying the situation. And also, she’s a tricky player to play on clay, a tricky lefty… I think we’re both playing free tennis, and I think that’s going to be a good matchup.”
While Trevisan admitted she was tense in her quarter-final victory over Leylah Fernandez and retaining focus is key to her success, “I looked around me and I was in the most important court in the world. Even [if] I felt a lot of tension and I was so nervous because even my arms felt it, I was happy anyway,” Trevisan told the WTA website.
“I accepted the situation, because, as I say, it was normal to feel the tension because I was playing for my semi-final, and I was in the match point. So I accepted the situation and I tried to be focused on every point. That was, I think, the most important things that I did today.”
Gauff will look to use her athleticism, power and effective points won on serve to dominate the tempo of rallies and be aggressive early in the match. While Trevisan will look to use a mixture of shot depth and power to catch the American off-guard and play counter-attacking tennis.
Gauff should settle into the match quicker, using her experience in latter stages of tournaments to show her talent. While Trevisan will look to play her way into the match and settle as quickly as possible. Form suggests that the Italian should edge this match but with so much on the line it won’t be easy for either competitor to complete victory.
Prediction: Trevisan in three sets.
 |
|---|
How to Watch/Follow Roland Garros 2022
| TV | Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime
Sign up for 30 day free trial of Prime Video and a 7-day free trial of Discovery+ Player |
| Live Scores | Tennis Live Scores on Britwatch Sports |
| Follow Britwatch - Sport in General, Brits in Particular! | |
|---|---|
| Soundcloud | |
| YouTube | |
| We may receive compensation for products purchased via affiliate links on this website | |