Former Serena Williams coach Patrick Mouratoglou highlighted three reasons for Coco Gauff’s defeat by Iga Swiatek at the French Open, with technical difficulties on the forehand being the main one as the Pole took full advantage of it.
Gauff lost 6-2, 6-4 against Swiatek, who easily handled her opponents. Gauff was hoping to advance to her third Grand Slam final on Thursday.
From the beginning of the contest, it was clear that Gauff intended to be aggressive and not settle for anything. Unfortunately for Gauff, it wasn’t working because she lost break points in the second and fourth games and dropped her serve in the first and fifth games.
Gauff took a 3-1 lead early in the second set thanks to her first break of the match, but she lost the next four games as Swiatek won the two sets.
After watching the match, Mouratoglou says it was clear that a major component of Swiatek’s strategy was to exploit Gauff’s forehand, which, despite the 20-year-old’s success, many feel still requires technical development. Then, Mouratoglou stated that Gauff didn’t appear to have a true game plan and that the American player performed poorly in the match’s most crucial places and instances.
Mouratoglou said it in a recent discussion: “I would have liked not to tell you about Gauff’s forehand, but there is a real technical problem. And, indeed, Iga Swiatek played excessively on that side, and she did well. I think there are three reasons why the match didn’t give us the fight we would have liked. First, I didn’t see a real game plan from Coco; I found that she was typing everything in all directions and that it wasn’t constructed.”
He further said: “We didn’t know what meaning she wanted to give to her match. Then, there was this weakness on the forehand side, which was exploited very well by Swiatek. And then there is the management of the important points because there were still plenty of chances and, each time, it was Swiatek who was the best. So when you don’t manage important points well, when you have a big weakness and when the game plan is not clear, it’s difficult to win.”
Coco Gauff in 2024
Currently the world no.3 (career-high), the American played her last match on the 6th of June when she lost to world no.1 Iga Swiatek 6-2 6-4 in the semifinal of the French Open (draw).
This season Coco owns a compiled 30-9 match record. Gauff clinched 1 title in Auckland.
Iga Swiatek in 2024
Currently the world no.1, the Pole played her last match on the 8th of June when she overcame world no.15 Jasmine Paolini 6-2 6-1 in the final of the French Open to win her 23rd career title.
During this season the Pole achieved an overall 45-4 win-loss record. Iga has won 6 titles in 2024 in Australia, Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid, Rome and French Open.
Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek clashed against each other 12 times. Their head to head is 11-1 for Swiatek. Previously, the last time they fought against each other, Iga Swiatek won 6-2 6-4 in the semifinal in Paris (French Open) on the 6th of June 2024.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek |
| Embed from Getty Images |