French Open: World No.1 Iga Swiatek sets up Jasmine Paolini for final

Paris: World No.1 and top seed Iga Swiatek moved into a third straight and fourth overall final at the French Open, beating American Coco Gauff in straight sets in the semifinals at Court Philippe-Chatier here on Thursday. Poland's Swiatek, a three-time former French Open champion, stormed into the final with a straight sets defeat of her third-seeded rival, winning 6-2, 6-4 to move into Saturday's final.

Under bright skies on Court Philippe Chatier, Swiatek took 1 hour and 37 minutes to get past American Gauff for the 11th time in their 12 career meetings. She is the third player since 2000 to make three consecutive French Open women's singles finals, joining Justine Henin (2005-2007) and Maria Sharapova (2012-2014).

After a comfortable opening set in which she broke her opponent's service in the first and fifth games, Swiatek trailed 3-1 in the second only to win five of the last six games including a crucial break in the seventh game with a forehand winner as she closed in onto victory.

The Pole will face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the final as she hopes to win her fifth French Open women's singles title.

Paolini crushed Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva 6-3 6-1 to bulldoze her way into the French Open final and continue Italy's Roland Garros fairytale.

By defeating Gauff, Swiatek has won 20 straight matches at the tournament, making her only the fifth woman in the Open Era to achieve this feat at Roland Garros. She joins Chris Evert (29 straight, 1984-1991), Monica Seles (25, 1990-1996), Justine Henin (24, 2005-2010), and Stefanie Graf (20, 1987-1989).

The 23-year-old Swiatek is also the second-youngest player in the Open Era to make four French Open finals, older only than Steffi Graf, who was 20 when she made her fourth Roland Garros final in 1990.

Swiatek is also amid another lengthy clay-court winning streak, having now won 18 straight matches on the surface. This current run ties her longest winning streak on clay, which was 18 straight between Stuttgart and Warsaw in 2022.

On the other hand, the diminutive 28-year-old Paolini is the first Italian player to reach the final on the Paris clay since doubles partner Sara Errani in 2012, and her resounding victory came two days after compatriot Jannik Sinner made it to the last four in the men's draw, guaranteeing he would be world number one next week.

Andreeva, who had won her previous match against Paolini in Madrid in April, failed to make the most of the few opportunities she had, and made too many unforced errors to stand a chance in what was both players' first appearance in a Grand Slam semi-final. Agencies

Also Read: French Open: Defending champion Iga Swiatek sets up Coco Gauff semi-finals

Also Watch: