Gauff Thrashes Swias in Madrid Open

Coco Gauff produced an extraordinary show to beat the French open champion four times Iga Swiatek 6-1 6-1 and reach the Madrid Open final.

Gauff, 21 years old, had never beat his Polish opponent on the clay before, but took only 64 minutes to send the number two of the world.

American Gauff will play the number one in the world Aryna Sabalenka or Elina Svitolina in the final.

The Swiatek reigning champion had won nine consecutive games in Madrid – and 15 out of 16 returned to his loss in Sabalenka in the 2023 final – but had no response to Gauff.

Gauff, who won the US Open in 2023, hit seven axes and won 19 of 21 points at his first service in a dominant performance.

“I was aggressive and played with a margin. Maybe it was not his best level,” Gauff said in his interview on the field.

The American, who passed Dayana Yastremska in three sets in her opening game last week, added: “Today I felt very well here on the field, very different from my first game here in the first round.

“I think the previous times we played on clay I don’t think I still have victory against her.

“Obviously on Clay is a different player, but Clay is also one of my best surfaces, and I thought that if I can beat it hard I can beat it on clay.” (BBC)