Swiatek in Pole position: Poland’s top seed outclasses Coco Gauff, in semifinals

PARIS, June 7

Holder Iga Swiatek was tested by American sixth seed Coco Gauff in a rematch of their 2022 French Open title clash but the world No. 1 showed her class to secure a 6-4 6-2 victory and reach the semifinals today.

The top seed will take on Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in the last-four as she continues her bid for a third crown in four years at Roland Garros and her fourth Grand Slam title overall.

“It was not easy,” said Swiatek, the first player since Conchita Martinez in 1995 to drop 15 games or fewer en route the semis in Paris. “Especially the first set. It was tight and Coco was using the conditions well, so I was happy that I was able to win. The quarterfinals are sometimes the toughest matches. I’ll be ready for the next one.”

A dream in tatters

Seventh seed Ons Jabeur’s hopes of becoming the first African woman to win a Grand Slam singles title lay in ruins after her 3-6 7-6(5) 6-1 defeat to Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in the quarterfinals.

Jabeur was bidding to reach her third Grand Slam semifinal in less than a year but her plans were scuppered by the 14th-seeded left-hander who battled back bravely to book her own maiden last-four appearance in a Major.

The world No. 14 became the first Brazilian woman since Maria Bueno in 1968 to reach a Slam semifinal and the first female player from her country to book a last-four spot at Roland Garros in the Open Era. “In the middle of the second set my coach showed me the clock,” Haddad Maia said. “I had to be patient because she (Jabeur) is a pretty good player, one of the best in the world.”

The last Brazilian to win a singles crown at the French Open was Gustavo Kuerten, who claimed his third Roland Garros men’s titles in 2001.

Later, Alexander Zverev shrugged off a mid-match wobble to battle his way into a third consecutive French Open semifinal with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-4 win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry. — Reuters

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