Iga Swiatek looks to continue her dominance against Coco Gauff on Wednesday afternoon when she takes on the American for the seventh time in two years. She has not dropped a set against Gauff so far and only one match could be considered anywhere near close. She won that one 7-6 6-3 but their most recent meeting on clay came last year, when Swiatek eased to a 6-1 6-3 victory without facing a break point.
Swiatek dropped just one game against Lesia Tsurenko before the Ukrainian retired at 5-1 in the opening set. That makes it just nine games lost on her way to the quarter final, an impressive feat even for the tournament favourite. “I don’t want to take this for granted, because I know every tournament is a different story,” Swiatek said. “We all can kind of have really tough opponents even in the first or second round and struggle, because, as well, the beginnings of the tournaments are sometimes tough. But I just feel pretty solid here [at Roland Garros]. I’m happy that I’m in a quarterfinal, and every year I’m gonna do my best to always reach these stages or even more so.”
For all struggles, Gauff has always been reliable against lower ranked players and proved that once more against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Monday. She made it more difficult than she should have in the opening set of the 7-5 6-2 win though, blowing a 5-2 lead before clinging on in the end. “Today was honestly a difficult match. I mean, as every match is. But the wind was something that I wasn’t really that prepared for it going in. The one side was gusting like really crazy. Usually, I like to play in the wind, to be honest, but it wasn’t something I was prepared for. Overall, I’m happy with how I played.”
There is enough evidence already to see that this matchup is disastrous for Gauff, who cannot trouble the Pole in any meaningful way. Swiatek will just continue to attack the forehand in this one, with it breaking down quickly under pressure against the elite players. Gauff will also be unable to hold her own in rallies on a regular basis, while lacking the killer shot to target Swiatek. The No.6 should be applauded for finally putting a run of wins together but it will end in this quarter final and likely, very quickly.
Prediction – Iga Swiatek in straight sets
