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.”
Gauff in Cincinnati, ranking, and results in 2023
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.