Coco Gauff snatched an upset win over Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open, the American teenager’s first victory over the World No.1. Gauff had a lopsided head-to-head record of 7-0 against Swiatek, which she improved to 7-1 after defeating her 6-7(2-7), 6-3, 4-6. Speaking after the win, Gauff joked that she wanted to avoid having a head-to-head record like Gael Monfils and Novak Djokovic, which stands at a shocking 19-0 in favour of the latter.
Not only did Gauff get her first win over Swiatek, but she also stopped the first seed from achieving an incredible record by doing so. Gauff became the first player younger than Swiatek to defeat her, breaking the latter’s 25-0 record. The American will now face Karolina Muchova in the final. Neither player has ever played in the final of a WTA 1000 tournament before. Gauff will be high on confidence after breaking the duck against Swiatek.
Coco Gauff did not want Swiatek to emulate Djokovic
Gauff and Swiatek had faced off seven times before Cincinnati. Swiatek came out on top every time, never even losing a single set to the American. In the 2022 French Open, Gauff reached the final of a Grand Slam for the first time in singles, where Swiatek was present to topple her. The Pole eliminated Gauff from the 2023 Roland Garros as well, which was the last meeting between the two women. This one-sided rivalry was beginning to resemble that of Monfils and Djokovic, where the Serb leads Monfils 19-0. The duo faced off in Cincinnati too, where Djokovic notched his 19th win over the Frenchman.
Talking after her win, Gauff joked about Monfils’ ignominious record. She said it felt good to break Swiatek’s streak against her, humorously adding that she did not want to have a statistic like that of Monfils and Djokovic to her name against Swiatek.
“It feels good. To be honest, I don’t know if I was thinking too far ahead. No offense to Gael, but I did not want that record, like the Novak and Gael record. I didn’t want that.”
Gauff, currently World No.5, will certainly be relieved after chalking up a win over Swiatek.
Gauff stops incredible Swiatek record
Apart from bagging her first win over Swiatek, Gauff halted the four-time Grand Slam winner’s unbeaten streak against opponents younger than her. The 22-year-old Pole had won all the 25 matches she had played against players born after her until 19-year-old Gauff stopped her in Cincinnati. Swiatek’s record included ITF matches, qualifiers, and Billie Jean King Cup matches, which made her streak all the more incredible.
Gauff’s first win over Swiatek has come at a great time for her. Swiatek is the defending US Open champion, and finally winning against her will give Gauff a massive boost of confidence as she prepares for the Grand Slam in front of her home crowd. Gauff made it to the quarter-finals last year, her best performance at the Flushing Meadows in singles. As she prepares to tackle Muchova in the Cincinnati Open final, Gauff will be hoping to build upon her good form and go deep into the US Open as it gets underway next week.
