Iga Swiatek has reached the final of Roland Garros on Thursday. The number one was also in a league of its own in the semifinals against Daria Kasatkina and recorded her 34th win in a row (6-2 and 6-1), putting the Polish on a level with Serena Williams.
It took 21-year-old Swiatek just an hour and six minutes to defeat Russia’s Kasatkina. The Polish immediately took a break in the first set against the global number twenty and then also outclassed her in the second set. Kasatkina had not lost a set until the semifinals.
Swiatek will face eighteen-year-old Coco Gauff in the final on Saturday, who is in a final of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career. Gauff was too strong for Italy’s Martina Trevisan in the semi-final in two sets.
Should Swiatek also win the final, she would equal the century record for most victories in a row. Venus Williams recorded 35 consecutive victories in 2000, one more than her younger sister Serena Williams.
Swiatek’s winning streak started on February 22, after which she won the WTA tournament of Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart and Rome. She also became the number one in the world by saying goodbye to Ashleigh Barty. She is the obvious favorite for the final victory at Roland Garros.
Swiatek won Roland Garros in 2020, which is her only Grand Slam victory in her career so far. Last year she was eliminated in the quarterfinals in Paris. In January, the semifinals were the final station of the Polish at the Australian Open.
Longest winning streak of this century
- 35 – Venus Williams (2000)
- 34 – Serena Williams (2013)
- 34 – Iga Swiatek (2022)
- 32 – Justine Henin (2008)
Eighteen-year-old Coco Gauff steamed through to the final.
Eighteen-year-old Coco Gauff steamed through to the final. Photo: Getty Images
Gauff is youngest GS finalist in eighteen years
Eighteen-year-old Gauff impressed in the other semi-final. The young American hit more winners (14 at 13) and made significantly fewer unnecessary mistakes (20 at 36) than her Italian opponent Trevisan, winning convincingly 6-3 and 6-1. The match lasted only 1 hour and 26 minutes.
Gauff and Trevisan were evenly matched in the first set, resulting in five breaks in a row. In the end, the American took the set with two breaks ahead, after which she also won the second set without any problems.
At 18 years and 82 days, Gauff is the youngest finalist in a Grand Slam tournament since Maria Sharapova in 2004. At the time, the 17-year-old Russian reached the Wimbledon final, which she then won against Serena Williams.
By the way, Gauff is not the youngest finalist at Roland Garros ever. Spain’s Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (17 years and 174 days, 1989) and Steffi Graf (17 years and 357 days, 1987) were younger.