By Tony Fairbairn
- Iga Swiatek [1] v Coco Gauff [3]
- Jasmine Paolini [12] v Mirra Andreeva
PARIS, FRANCE – Coco Gauff is looking to gain a rare win over world number one Iga Swiatek when they meet in the Roland Garros semi-finals.
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Iga Swiatek [1] v Coco Gauff [3] | H2H: Swiatek leads 10-1
After saving match points in her second round match against Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek has been on a tear through the Roland Garros draw as she has only lost eight games in her last three matches. The world number one is in incredible form and is now the overwhelming favourite to win her third consecutive Roland Garros title and her fourth overall. The next player to try to stop the Pole is US Open champion Coco Gauff after she came from a set down to defeat Ons Jabeur and reach her second Roland Garros semi-final.
H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Iga Swiatek [1] v Coco Gauff [3] | H2H: Swiatek leads 10-1 |
| Roland Garros 2024 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €650,000 |
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Swiatek’s Roland Garros dominance as she continues to wipe the competition apart after saving match points in her second round.
The world number one’s main title rivals are now out the picture and the Pole will believe she is firm favourite to claim a fifth Grand Slam title.
However underestimate Gauff at your peril as the American has looked impressive for the majority of the tournament, gradually gaining form.
Now the American will aim to break her curse against the Pole as she bids to reach a second Roland Garros final.
Speaking after her quarter-final win against Marketa Vondrousova, Swiatek feels like everything is working at the moment and won’t change her routines from her past meetings against Gauff.
“Honestly, I think everything worked. I feel like I’ve been serving better than in previous rounds, so it gave me an extra boost in confidence,” Swiatek told the Roland Garros website.
“Overall, I felt like I’m playing pretty heavy. I could just play my game and go with my tactics and not really overthink anything. ‘m happy that I kept my focus because sometimes I felt like the game was really intense and sometimes the intensity went down a little bit, so I wanted to really play my game no matter what was coming back from Marketa. I felt like I was in a zone today.
“[It will be] the same as before any other match. You don’t want to change your routines. It’s good to just keep going and not think about this match as something huge, but just another match to not put too much baggage on your shoulders.
“Against Coco, it’s not easy. She really likes playing on clay, especially here. I’ll just focus on myself.”
Meanwhile Gauff spoke about how her aggressive level of play lead to victory and how much it means to be consistent at the big tournaments.
“If my level doesn’t rise, then I deserve to lose. I knew I had to raise my level … I just started to play more aggressive and not letting her dictate me off the court,” Gauff told the WTA website.
“It means a lot to me. I’ve been trying to do better at being consistent in the big tournaments, and I’m reaching that level of consistency. [I’m]] very happy to reach the semifinal. Everybody knows I want to go all the way.”
Swiatek will aim to maintain her serving aggression as she looks to dictate play from the baseline, not allowing Gauff any time to pick her shots.
Meanwhile Gauff will look to approach the net to finish points off efficiently as she will need to avoid any lapses of concentration.
A quick start to the match is needed for Gauff in order to establish her authority on the contest otherwise this match could get ugly very fast for the American.
Prediction: Swiatek in straight sets.
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Jasmine Paolini [12] v Mirra Andreeva | H2H: Andreeva leads 1-0
One of the biggest wins of Jasmine Paolini’s career against Elena Rybakina means the Italian is into her first Grand Slam semi-final. The 12th seed has had some great form in doubles recently and now at Roland Garros Paolini has translated that form onto the singles court as she looks to continue her dream run into the final. Standing in Paolini’s way is Mirra Andreeva as the 17 year-old is the youngest Grand Slam semi-finalist in 27 years after stunning world number two Aryna Sabalenka in three sets.
H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Jasmine Paolini [12] v Mirra Andreeva | H2H: Andreeva leads 1-0 |
| Roland Garros 2024 | Paris, France |
| Clay (O) | Prize Money: €650,000 |
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Paolini’s impressive doubles form has translated into singles form as the Italian knocks out Rybakina to reach the last four of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career.
Now Paolini will aim to continue her impressive performances as she aims for more history in Paris.
Speaking of history, Andreeva stands in Paolini’s way of the final as the 17 year-old is the youngest Grand Slam semi-finalist for 27 years.
Andreeva took advantage of an under-par Sabalenka to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final and will now hope this is the platform for a very promising future.
After reaching the semi-finals, Paolini admitted that it’s an unbelievable feeling to reach a first Grand Slam semi-final.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Paolini told the Roland Garros website.
“It was a really tough match. I think I was too emotional in the second set, but then I said to myself ‘Okay, she’s a great champion so it can happen.’ Just fight, try to keep it there, try to hit every ball and it worked – I’m here.”
Meanwhile Andreeva spoke about her tennis intellect and admitted she forgot the score on match point up.
“I see the game, I just play wherever I want, I don’t even have a plan. When I see an open space, I try to hit there,” Andreeva told the Roland Garros website.
“Me and my coach had a plan today, but I didn’t remember anything during the match. I just tried to play as I feel. I forgot the score at the end, I just tried to stay focused. In my second match point, I imagined I was trying to save break point. I tried to play brave and I managed to win.”
Paolini will continue to use her sharp movement to her advantage as she will extend the rallies and take advantage of any short balls that come her way.
Meanwhile Andreeva will continue to create angles on the backhand side as she will use variety in order to expose Paolini’s court positioning.
Both players will be nervous as there is a lot on the line but Andreeva’s fearlessness and tactical depth should be too much for Paolini in a tough contest.
Prediction: Andreeva in three sets.
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