In Madrid, Coco Gauff achieved her first career victory against Iga Swiatek on clay, securing a decisive 6-1, 6-1 win on Thursday. This triumph propels her into the Mutua Madrid Open final.
The match concluded in a remarkably brief 64 minutes. This marks a substantial breakthrough for the 21-year-old American, who has now won her last three encounters against Swiatek. Before this recent streak, Swiatek held a commanding 11-1 head-to-head lead, having defeated Gauff more than any other opponent in her career.
Gauff, who is slated to meet Aryna Sabalenka in the final on Saturday, played an almost perfect match. After Swiatek secured the opening game, Gauff went on to win an impressive 11 consecutive games, ultimately capturing 12 of the final 13 games played.
Gauff demonstrated exceptional performance on her first serve, dropping only two points and hitting six aces. She secured 57 out of 83 points in total and faced no break points. Gauff`s statistics included 18 winners and just four unforced errors, while Swiatek registered seven winners and 21 unforced errors.
What made the difference?
“I believe it was the mindset I maintained throughout the entire match,” Gauff stated in her on-court interview. “I was aggressive and played with adequate margin. Perhaps she wasn`t playing at her peak level.”
“For me, the key was ensuring my level remained consistent. In the second set, I elevated it.”
The last time Swiatek won two games or fewer in a match on any surface was during a 6-0, 6-2 loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Birmingham at the Round of 32 stage.
Frankly, this outcome was hard to comprehend.
Fewest Games Won by Swiatek in Her Clay-Court Career
Swiatek, a four-time Roland Garros champion, has historically been remarkably dominant on clay. Over the past 35 years, only Steffi Graf (.750) boasts a superior win rate against WTA Top 10 players compared to Swiatek`s (.700).
Following the match, reporters asked Swiatek to explain what transpired.
“Honestly, there`s nothing specific to walk through because it was largely consistent from start to finish,” she commented. “I simply couldn`t elevate my performance. Coco played well, but ultimately, I believe my inability to move effectively and return heavy shots was the issue. With that kind of play, it was quite poor.”
This marked another difficult start for Swiatek in the tournament. In her opening match, she fell behind a set and a break against teenager Alexandra Eala before recovering to win. In Wednesday`s quarterfinal against Madison Keys, Swiatek lost the first set 6-0 but managed to fight back and win in three sets.
In this match against Gauff, she held her opening service game but then lost six consecutive games. For the second day in a row, Swiatek concluded the first set by losing six straight games.
The sequence of breaks occurred as follows: Gauff broke serve for the first time in Swiatek`s second service game. Swiatek missed a backhand volley approaching the net, giving Gauff a 2-1 lead. Another break followed when a weak backhand and a misplaced forehand allowed Gauff to go up 4-1. The third consecutive break, secured on Gauff`s second set point via a wide lunging backhand from Swiatek, cost her the set.
Gauff, whose serve has strengthened throughout the tournament, won all nine points on her first serve (including four aces) and faced no break points in the first set. She hit 11 winners compared to just four unforced errors. Swiatek, conversely, had 13 unforced errors and only five winners in the set.
This pattern of dominance persisted into the second set. Gauff broke Swiatek`s serve for the fourth time in a row (and eighth consecutive game overall) with a sharp forehand winner. Swiatek`s frustration was apparent, leading to an unusual code violation for an audible obscenity.
Swiatek`s movement, typically her strongest asset, was noticeably lacking. She frequently had difficulty recovering to a neutral position after being pushed into the corners.
“I believe I perhaps pushed myself mentally beyond what was beneficial for my tennis,” Swiatek commented. “Today, everything seemed to fall apart, both my tennis game and my footwork; I wasn`t positioned correctly for my shots. I wasn`t ready to play back the shots with heaviness. I wish I had moved better, as I think that would have given me a chance to recover, which is usually how I manage.”
While trailing 5-0 in the second set, Swiatek finally held her serve, but Gauff secured the match in the subsequent game, winning it to love with another unreturnable serve.
Jasper Hawthorne 
Dominic Ashworth