Coco Gauff explains how she made Iga Swiatek ‘uncomfortable’ during their semi-final
Coco Gauff revealed what she did during her Madrid semi-final that made Iga Swiatek ‘uncomfortable’ – winning her third consecutive match against the Pole.
The American dominated the defending champion 6-1, 6-1 in what was Swiatek’s heaviest clay-court defeat since 2019.
Gauff was in supreme form, taking the match in just 64 minutes and losing just two points on her first serve.
“I mean, I started off pretty well,” the victor stated.
“Obviously she wasn’t maybe playing her best tennis, but I think I made her uncomfortable, and honestly just today was just a good day for me.”
Swiatek began the rivalry with an 8-0 lead, before the world No 3 flipped the match-up around, winning their last three matches.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously she is very talented and can make you run and move you around the court,” stated the five-time Grand Slam champion.
“And I just tried to not do that today, which is what I did all the times that I, or tried to do all the times that I played her.
“Obviously I’ve gotten a lot better since maybe our first couple times playing each other, and obviously the results are showing that. Not that she hasn’t gotten better either, obviously she’s doing great, too.
“I just feel like it’s one of those days you just step on court and everything feels good, and today was that day for me.”
If Gauff manages to win the final, she will leapfrog Swiatek and, once again, be ranked as the WTA’s world No 2 – a position that she first reached in June 2023.
Currently, the American is sitting on 6603 ranking points, gaining a further 350 points if she lifts the Madrid trophy.
“No, I’m going to be honest, it’s not important to me, honestly,” Gauff admitted, when asked if returning to the top two means much to her.
“I mean, the only number that would mean a lot to me is 1 at this point. But, yeah, anything anywhere else is just, it’s just a number.
“So, yeah, but, I mean, obviously it’s a reward for the work that I’m doing and the consistency that I’m showing, but it’s not something that I think about or have a goal to reach.”
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The world No 3’s first victory over the Pole arrived at the 2023 Cincinnati Open, a match which she considers to be one of her ‘best’ against Swiatek.
“I think my biggest enjoyment was probably, either the first time in Cincinnati or United Cup [in 2025],” Gauff answered.
“I would say United Cup more, just because it was the final and I really wanted to do it for my team, so, yeah, I would think that. But honestly, the score, a win is a win and honestly when you, I don’t know, I feel like you feel more satisfied when you win one of the tougher ones.
“But also, I mean, it does show, the score does show the work and the progress that I’ve made. But, yeah, I would say United Cup just meant more to me, just because it was a team event and I was super nervous going into that match because of the team event environment.”
The former US Open champion will face Aryna Sabalenka in the 2025 WTA Madrid Masters final.
