MADRID – In a commanding performance, Coco Gauff decisively defeated Iga Swiatek for the first time on clay with a score of 6-1, 6-1 on Thursday, earning her spot in the Mutua Madrid Open final.
The match was remarkably swift, concluding in just 64 minutes. This victory marks a significant and complete breakthrough for the 20-year-old American, who has now beaten Swiatek three consecutive times. Historically, Swiatek held a dominant 11-1 head-to-head lead, with Gauff being the player she had defeated most often in her career.
Gauff, who is scheduled to play Aryna Sabalenka for the title on Saturday, delivered a nearly flawless match. After Swiatek won the initial game, Gauff went on an incredible run, winning 11 straight games and taking 12 of the final 13 points contested.
Gauff was highly effective on her first serve, losing only two points and hitting six aces. She won a total of 57 out of 83 points and did not face a single break point throughout the match. Gauff finished with an impressive 18 winners and just four unforced errors, in stark contrast to Swiatek`s seven winners and 21 unforced errors.
What was the key difference?
“I think the mentality that I had the whole match,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “I was aggressive and played with margin. Maybe it wasn’t her best level.” She added, “For me, it was just making sure my level stayed the same. In the second, I raised it.”
Remarkably, the last time Swiatek won two games or fewer on any surface was in a 6-0, 6-2 loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Birmingham.
This particular outcome in Madrid was, frankly, difficult to comprehend.
Fewest games won by Swiatek in clay-court career
Swiatek, a four-time Roland Garros champion, is widely considered nearly unbeatable on red clay. Only Steffi Graf (.750) holds a higher win percentage against WTA Top 10 opponents (.700) over the past 35 years.
After the match, reporters asked Swiatek to describe what had happened.
“Honestly, there’s nothing like to walk through because it was all pretty much the same from the beginning to the end,” she stated. “I couldn’t really get my level up. Coco played good, but, yeah, I think it’s on me that I didn’t really move well, I wasn’t ready to play back the shots with heaviness. With that kind of game, it was pretty bad.”
This match continued a pattern of slow starts for Swiatek in the tournament. In her opening round, she had to recover after trailing teenager Alexandra Eala by a set and a break. In Wednesday’s quarterfinal against Madison Keys, Swiatek lost the first set 6-0 before mounting a comeback to win in three sets.
Against Gauff, she held her opening service game but then lost six consecutive games. This marked the second day in a row that Swiatek concluded the first set having lost six straight games.
The sequence of breaks unfolded as follows: Gauff secured the first break in Swiatek’s second service game when Swiatek missed a backhand volley, putting Gauff up 2-1. Another break occurred due to a loose backhand followed by an errant forehand from Swiatek, giving Gauff a 4-1 lead. The third straight break, which sealed the set for Gauff on her second set point, resulted from a wide lunging backhand by Swiatek.
Gauff, whose serve showed marked improvement throughout the tournament, was perfect on her first serve in the first set, winning all nine points (four of them aces) and not facing a single break point. She hit 11 winners against only four unforced errors. Swiatek, meanwhile, recorded 13 unforced errors compared to just five winners in the set.
The trend persisted into the second set. Gauff broke Swiatek again for the fourth consecutive time (and eighth straight game overall) with a powerful forehand winner. Swiatek’s frustration became evident when she received an uncharacteristic code violation for an audible obscenity.
Swiatek’s movement, typically her greatest asset, seemed off. On numerous occasions, she appeared to struggle in the corners, having difficulty recovering to a neutral position.
Reflecting on her struggles, Swiatek said, “I think I pushed kind of with my head for more than I even should, tennis-wise.” She felt that “Today for sure everything kind of collapsed, both tennis-wise and I feel like I wasn’t even in the right place with my feet before the shots.” She concluded, “I wish I would have moved better, because I think that would get me any opportunity to bounce back, because this is usually what happens.”
Trailing 5-0 in the second set, Swiatek finally held her serve, but Gauff swiftly closed out the match in a love game, ending the contest with another unreturnable serve.
