Coco Gauff defeated Italian qualifier Jasmine Paolini on Friday by scores of 6-3 and 6-2 to advance into the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open for the first time.
Gauff has advanced to her third WTA 1000 semifinal of her career after her three straight-set victories this week. She previously reached the semifinals in Dubai earlier this year and Rome in 2021.
Gauff will compete against World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals. In their seven previous encounters, Gauff has yet to defeat Swiatek in a set.
Gauff stated her remarks in an interview and said: ” I don’t have a good track record against [her]. I feel like the [2023] French Open match that I played her, even though it was a straight-sets score line, I think I made some improvements against her since the last time I played her.”
She further added: “I’m just really going to go out there and continue to follow the plan that I’ve been doing in the last couple of my matches. … I do feel a lot more confident going into it tomorrow. But she’s not an easy opponent to play, especially against me. I think I really just got to take it point by point and try to stay mentally engaged every ball.”
A third WTA 1000 semifinal 🇺🇸@CocoGauff moves past Paolini 6-3, 6-2 to set a showdown with Swiatek!#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/IP4XzKc7jl
— Cincinnati Open (@CincyTennis) August 18, 2023
Gauff in Cincinnati, ranking, and results in 2023
WLWWWLWWLW Now the world no.7, Coco has an overall 36-13 win-loss record in 2023. The American is currently playing in Cincinnati where she bested the world no.33 Mayar Sherif 6-2 6-2, the world no.50 Linda Noskova 6-4 6-0 and the world no.43 Jasmine Paolini 6-3 6-2.
Coco Gauff will take on the world no.1 Iga Swiatek in the semifinal on Saturday at 11:00 am on CENTER COURT. Their actual head to head record is 7-0 for Swiatek.
The American clinched 2 titles in 2023 in Auckland and Washington.
Coco won 4 titles in her career: 2 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 1 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Swiatek in Cincinnati, ranking, and results in 2023
Currently ranked no.1, Swiatek has a composed 53-8 record in 2023. The Pole is now having a run in Cincinnati where she overcame the world no.34 Danielle Rose Collins 6-1 6-0, the world no.24 Qinwen Zheng 3-6 6-1 6-1 and the world no.10 Marketa Vondrousova 7-63 6-1.
Iga Swiatek will face the world no.7 Coco Gauff in the semifinal on Saturday at 11:00 am on CENTER COURT. Their current head to head is 7-0 for Swiatek.
The Pole conquered 4 titles in 2023 in Doha, Stuttgart, French Open and Warsaw. The Pole was the runner-up in Dubai (Dubai Duty Free Championships) and in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open).
Iga won 15 titles in her career: 8 on hard courts and 7 on clay courts. (See the list of her titles)
Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek squared off 7 times. Their record is 7-0 for Swiatek. Before, the last time they played, Iga Swiatek won 6-4 6-2 in the quarter in Paris (French Open) on the 7th of June 2023.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYKJ6TwIz7M
