Before Saturday, Coco Gauff had never taken a single set off of world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
Gauff entered their semifinal match at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati being 0-7 head-to-head against Swiatek, having lost all 14 sets they played.
But with Brad Gilbert joining her coaching staff since Washington No. 7 Gauff scored the biggest win of her career by taking down the world No. 1 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 to advance to Sunday’s championship.
“I knew playing her was going to be tough, nothing was going to be given to me today,” she told Prakash Amritraj in a Tennis Channel interview. “And I really took my opportunities when I got them and I really just fought.
“I was telling myself, ‘You’re a warrior and you can do this. I’m Coco Gauff and I can do it.’”
Gauff’s victory comes just over a week before the start of the U.S. Open on Aug. 28 where she wants to make a deep run. Swiatek is the defending U.S. Open champion and a four-time major winner. Even though Gauff is still seeking her first major title, this should give her some much needed confidence.
The momentum and the Cincinnati crowd were with Gauff and she charged to a 4-0 lead in the breaker. Though Swiatek chopped back to 4-2, Gauff kept calm. She won the next three points to take a set against Swiatek for the first time.
Not shockingly, Swiatek responded immediately, keeping her focus and breaking in the third game to lead 2-1. After consolidating the break, she was knocking on the door for a second break. Gauff was still hungry and hit her way out of disaster to stay in reach at 2-3, but still a break down.
Swiatek held for 4-2 after a game which included a sharp forehand volley and began to show up often. A second break, this time to love, sealed the set to take the match into a decider.
After splitting the first two sets, Gauff played with sure intent. She earned a break at 4-3 in the third when Swiatek drifted a backhand wide.
Gauff then surged to 40-0 on her serve before Swiatek got it back to deuce. Gauff stood tough and finally held for 5-3 when the Pole dumped a forehand into the net, leading Gauff to lift her arms up and yell, “Come on” as the crowd erupted.
Serving at 5-4, Gauff earned a match point when Swiatek sailed a uncharacteristic forehand long to bring Gauff to 40-15. Gauff also missed a 122 mph first serve on her first match point for which clocked in well above her average.
Gauff kept missing her toss and having to redo it. A possible sign of nerves since this was the biggest match of her career thus far. Swiatek saved three match points to bring it to deuce.
She fought off a huge return shot from Swiatek and brought it back to deuce. And aced at deuce after redoing her toss once again.
The win came after Swiatek hit a careless forehand volley wide cross court. On her 8th try, Gauff finally slayed the dragon.
Earlier in the week, Gauff credited Brad Gilbert, with her record being 10-1 now since he joined her team after she suffered an early exit in the first round of Wimbledon to fellow American Sofia Kenin. She says he is responsible for sharpening the mental aspects of her game. Gilbert has coached Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick in the past.
“Just a lot of wisdom and how to play the points and just the mental side of the game, how to approach these matches in these big situations,” she said this week on Tennis Channel.
Already this summer, Gauff won her first tournament on American soil in Washington. Now she will compete against French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova, who will crack the top 10 on Monday after her win against Aryna Sabalenka.
Stay tuned for more breaking tennis coverage and updates.
Featured Image courtesy of Western & Southern Open
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