Swiatek crushes Gauff to set up French Open final with late blooming Paolini

World No 1 wins semi-final 6-2, 6-4 at Roland Garros
Paolini beats Andreeva to reach first grand slam final
Tumaini Carayol at Roland Garros

In recent years, Coco Gauff has found herself reflecting on the long-term relationships tennis forges. The opponents she faced years ago on the junior circuit are many of the same players she battles now as a top ­professional. If she and her contemporaries enjoy the long, full careers they are working towards, many of the same faces will be there until the end.

This means that Gauff, at 20 years old, has a long time to work towards reconfiguring her game and ­changing the direction of match-ups with Iga Swiatek, but it is also hard not to ­wonder how excruciating these encounters could become over the next 10 years.

Like last year in the quarter-finals and the final a year before, Swiatek continued her dominance of Gauff as she reached her fourth French Open final with a 6-2, 6-4 win. Her record against the American stands at 11-1.

Just a few days after her 23rd birthday, Swiatek has now reached four Roland Garros finals in her past five appearances. She stands one match away from a generational ­achievement that would cement her spot among the clay court greats: on Saturday, Swiatek will attempt to become the third woman in the open era to win three consecutive French Open titles. Only Justine Henin and Monica Seles have done this.

Having arrived in Paris with titles at Madrid and Rome, Swiatek has won 18 matches in a row, equalling her longest winning streak on clay from 2022. She has compiled a 16-4 record against top-five players since reaching world No 1 in March 2022. Last Wednesday, her pursuit of history was nearly derailed by Naomi Osaka in their instant classic second-round match. She has been on a revenge tour ever since.

“Sometimes it’s hard not to see what’s at stake and what the atmosphere is around these matches,” said Swiatek, on whether her success now feels normal. “So still I’m not used to it. It’s not the routine. But on the other hand, when I’m really focused on work and on my tennis, I can kind of make it a routine because that’s easier way to do it.”

Swiatek will face Jasmine Paolini, a first-time grand slam finalist, in the final after the 12th seed outplayed 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 6-1. Paolini, a 28-year-old late bloomer, had never previously passed the fourth round of a grand slam ­tournament. This year has proven a breakout year for her, though, ­having already won a WTA 1000 title in Dubai. “Really, really happy,” she said. “It’s a great feeling to be in a grand slam final. I don’t know. It seems ­something impossible, you know, but it’s true.”