Christopher Thomas
The 2024 French Open women’s semi-finals are set and all eyes are currently on world No. 1 Iga Swiatek as she seeks her third consecutive Roland Garros title. She is undefeated at this tournament since 2021, but American star Coco Gauff – the new world number 2 – will look to change that.
“I’m going to come in and try to win,” Gauff said. “I have nothing to lose, all the pressure is on her.”
This will be a rematch of the 2022 French Open final when Swiatek cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 victory. They have met 11 times, and Swiatek has a 10-1 lead in their all-time series – including 4-0 on clay. Their last meeting was in May, in the Italian Open semifinal, which Swiatek won 6-4, 6-3.
“I have to find a better way to face her than the last few times I’ve played on clay, because obviously I haven’t been successful the last few times, regardless of the surface,” Gauff said. “She’s definitely a tough opponent for me and anyone. I think for me, I’m going to have to go back and watch and try to figure out what I have to do. I think she’s playing great tennis here, so it will be a challenge. I’ll I go into the match with a lot of conviction that I can do it.”
The 22-year-old Pole enters this battle with 17 consecutive victories in clay matches, including trophies in Madrid and Rome. Even men’s world number 3 Carlos Alcaraz recently referred to her as “The best player in the world.”
Swiatek shook off a scare against Naomi Osaka in the second round and saw the shortest match of her career by defeating Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0 in just 40 minutes during the fourth round. She later earned her ticket to the semi-final with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Marketa Vondrosova. Meanwhile, Gauff arrived here after a 4-6 6-2 6-3 victory over Ons Jabeur.
The other women’s semifinal clash will be between unseeded Mirra Andreeva and 12th-placed Jasmine Paolini. This is the first time both players have made it this far in a Grand Slam. Andreeva is fresh off a 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4 defeat against Aryna Sabalenka and, at 17, is now the youngest woman to reach a major semi-final since Martina Hingis in 1997.
Gauff has been in the spotlight for a while now and just turned 20 in March, so she had some advice for Andreeva.
“The only advice I think is to stay in the moment,” Gauff said. “Believe that you can do it, but don’t think about the end. Sometimes you hear the world ‘final’ and think it’s so close… It’s a long career she will have. a success and she is obviously a great player, doing a lot of good things as a young girl. I hope she can stay here.”
Andreeva has been a fun underdog to watch, but Paolini shouldn’t be underestimated either. The Italian star stunned world No. 4 Elena Rybakina 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 during the quarterfinals. At 28 years old, Paolini is in the middle of her season and will make her debut in the WTA Top 10 next week.
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