Iga Swiatek may not want to have the Queen of Clay title attached to her, but it is now becoming unavoidable.
The world number one has stormed into yet another French Open final after a semi-final win over Coco Gauff.
The American battled hard against the Pole on court Philippe-Chatrier, but eventually came up short in a straight-set loss.
Number three seed Gauff showed her maturity and determination despite her youth as she saved three match points in the second set, but ultimately lost 6-2, 6-4.
Such mental growth was highlighted by Swiatek before the match, but it was the more experienced of the two who was stronger in their latest clash on clay.
What did Coco Gauff say to the umpire in her French Open semi-final?
While Swiatek was ruthless, Gauff did allow far too many errors to slip into her game, although she may have been impacted by a call from the umpire early in the second set.
Aurelie Tourte overruled a decision on a serve from Swiatek that was initially called out from the line judge, with Gauff having hit her return out of the court.
The decision was labelled ‘awful’ by seven-time French Open winner Chris Evert, with the young star left in tears.
Her altercation with the umpire that led to that breakdown was captured by the cameras in Paris, with Gauff very aggrieved at the ruling from Tourte.
“He called it and then I hit it, I’m 1000% sure,” said Gauff, as quoted by Eurosport. “If he called it before I hit it, I saw my reaction – I didn’t even finish my follow-through! Are you serious? He called it before I hit it.
“Can you ask him? They are booing because you know you are wrong. They are booing because you are wrong.
“He called it before I hit the ball. I have the right to finish my swing. You are wrong, and it’s the second time it has happened. It is a Grand Slam semi-final, know the rules of the game.”
Big questions asked of Coco Gauff
With the victory in Paris, Swiatek’s record against Gauff is now 11 wins in 12, with the only defeat coming at last year’s Cincinnati Masters.
The American will really want to see the back of the Pole, particularly now that she has knocked her out of the French Open for three years running.
She will need some time to recover from the latest defeat, but it was one whereby she uncharacteristically let herself down.
Gauff made a massive 39 unforced errors from her racket during the straight-set loss in the French capital.
She can, however, still be proud of her overall efforts in Paris, and will be delighted to clinch the number two spot in the world rankings.
But according to journalist Ben Rothenberg, questions will now be asked of Gauff, specifically regarding her brutal record against Swiatek.
“The main question is if the Gauff team can face how awful this match-up against Swiatek is and if they’re willing to take the time to retool Coco’s game dramatically to change the future of this rivalry,” he wrote on X.
“Not an overstatement to say it will limit her career if unchanged.”
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