CNN
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Coco Gouf was totally dominant as defending champions Igawiotek 6-1, 6-1 reached the Madrid Open Final in just 64 minutes, handing over five Grand Slam champions to one of the worst defeats of his career.
It was Goff’s first career victory, when the Americans won Schwi Tech in the final on Saturday after the Belarusians beat Erina Svitrina in their second semi-finals, and the Americans now faced the world’s No. 1 Arena Sabalenka.
Saturday’s victory over Sabalenka will lift Gaff, who surpasses Seawitok in the world rankings, to his new career high of No. 2.
After holding the serve in the opening game of the match, świątek lost an extraordinary 11 straight games.
Gauff dropped two points in all matches alone in the first serve and faced no one breakpoint in a very one-sided match. According to the WTA, świątek only won one clay court match in her career.
“I think I was offensive and played with the margins,” Gouff said in a post-match interview. “Maybe it wasn’t at the best today, but I pushed her into some nasty positions. I’m really happy with my play.
“Especially when I play someone like IGA, she knows she can always come back and play great tennis, and for me, I was making sure my level was still the same.
“I’m really happy with how I played, especially since I knew I had to level up my level in that second set, especially since she could come back.”
świątek previously enjoyed the 11-1 head-to-head record against Gouf, making it a kind of headache for Americans. However, Gauff, the 2023 US Open Champion, has recently appeared to have an edge in their rivalry, and is currently earning a three-game winning streak against the World No. 2.
Roland Garros’ four-time clay court specialist świątek has lost six consecutive semi-finals and has not reached the tour final since winning the 2024 French Open.
“Today, certainly, it feels like everything has collapsed in terms of tennis and not even in the right place with his foot in front of the shot,” świątek told reporters according to the WTA.
“Because this is something that usually happens.”
Gouf is looking for his third WTA 1000 title in his third final after winning the 2023 Cincinnati Open and the 2024 China Open.
