Iga Swiatek beat Coco Gauff to reach the French Open final and continue her bid for a fourth title at Roland Garros.
The world number one is just one match away from becoming the first woman to win the tournament in three straight years since Justine Henin in 2007 after a 6-2, 6-4 victory.
“It was intense, in the second set, it was kind of tight because we were breaking each other, but I’m glad I was consistent in my tactics and just went for it in the end,” she said.
Swiatek saved a match point against Naomi Osaka in the second round last week but has barely broken sweat since, losing just 14 games across the next four rounds.
The Pole’s career win-loss record at Roland Garros now stands at a staggering 34-2, while she is on a 20-match winning streak at the event.
The 23-year-old has won all four of her previous Grand Slam finals and will bid to extend that run against Jasmine Paolini on Saturday.
Paolini is through to her first Grand Slam final at the age of 28 after a 6-3, 6-1 win over Mirra Andreeva. She had never gone beyond the second round of a major before the start of this year.
The world number 15 had won a total of four matches in 16 Grand Slam appearances before advancing to the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.
Now she is one win away from an improbable title at Roland Garros as she tries to emulate compatriot Francesca Schiavone, who won the 2010 French Open. Paolini is also guaranteed to break into the top 10 for the first time.
“I learned I think a little bit later than other players, to dream is the most important thing in sport and in life,” said Paolini.
Sherjeel Malik is the editor at FanHaat with a writing experience in multiple sports. He oversees the editorial and content coverage at FanHaat and writes often around combat sports, football and other marquee sports. A professional highlight of his career was when WWE’s Paul Heyman shared one of his articles on his social media.
Apart from writing, editing and watching sports, he likes to indulge in reading fiction, watching war documentaries and is a fan of Liverpool FC
