Coco Gauff cruised into the Madrid Open final on Thursday with a comprehensive win over a highly frustrated Iga Swiatek.
The former US Open champion stormed to a 6-1, 6-1, victory in the most one-sided match in her rivalry with the Pole. Gauff’s encounter with the world No.2 was their 15th Tour-level meeting and she has now won their three most recent meetings—a massive turnaround after Swiatek won 11 out of their first 12 encounters.
“I think just the mentality that I had with the whole match,” Gauff replied when asked what she was most proud of about her performance.
“I was aggressive and played with margin. Maybe it wasn’t her (Swiatek’s) best level today, but I think I kind of forced her into some awkward positions.
“I’m really happy with how I played.”
Gauff’s powerful ball striking and serving enabled her to dictate play but the biggest story of the match was her opponent’s lackluster form. Swiatek leaked 28 unforced errors (21 of which were from her forehand) and received a code violation three games into the second set for an audible obscenity. During one of the changeovers, she covered her head with a towel and looked to be crying.
Unlike 24 hours earlier when she managed to bounce back from 0-6 against Madison Keys, Swiatek was unable to fight back against Gauff. Even when she tried to be more aggressive, it only triggered more mistakes. It is her heaviest defeat on the clay since the 2019 French Open when she won only one game against Simona Halep in the fourth round.
“When you’re playing someone like Iga, at any moment she can come back and play great tennis,” Gauff commented.
“So for me, it was just making sure my level stayed the same.“
Gauff heads into the final having dropped only one set so far in the tournament, which was in the first round against Dayana Yastremska. She has also scored wins over Ann Li, Belinda Bencic and Mirra Andreeva.
“I’m having a great time in Madrid. I’m happy to be back on this court and through to my first final here,” she said of her results.
It is only the third time the American has reached the final of a WTA clay court event. She won the 2021 Parma Open before settling for runner-up at the French Open a year later.
Gauff will next play either Aryna Sabalenka or Elina Svitolina.
