By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday November 1, 2023
Iga Swiatek dominated the opening set, then edged Coco Gauff in a tense second set to improve to 9-1 against the American.
Photo Source: Getty
Coco Gauff still has an Iga Swiatek problem.
The 19-year-old American may be riding a wave of confidence after becoming a US Open champion in September, but her struggles against the Polish juggernaut continued on Wednesday in Cancun as the World No.2 defeated Gauff 6-0, 7-5 in blustery conditions at Cancun.
After not managing a game in the opener (it was Swiatek’s 22nd bagel set of 2023), Gauff had chances to force a third set as she served for the second set with a 5-4 lead, but tossed in four double-faults in succession to hand the advantage back to Swiatek.
Swiatek accepted the American’s charity and won 12 of the final 13 points to close out the contest in one hour and 29 minutes to remain undefeated at 2-0 at the WTA Finals.
A statement victory 💪@iga_swiatek gets past Gauff and is still unbeaten in the Chetumal Group!#WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/z9i7I1xFk9
— wta (@WTA) November 1, 2023
Gauff has made some progress this year against Swiatek, and even managed to snap an 0 for 7 against Swiatek in August, defeating her in the semifinals at Cincinnati, but the Pole has taken both of the pair’s most recent matchups since, increasing her overall record to 9-1 (4-1 in 2023) against the American.
Swiatek converted six of ten break points and hit 11 winners against 22 unforced errors in the tricky Mexican wind. Gauff won just 33 percent of her second-serve points and hit six winners against 31 unforced errors.
Swiatek is closing in on clinching a semifinal spot at the WTA Finals. If Marketa Vondrousova defeats Ons Jabeur in Wednesday’s second match, or if Jabeur wins in three sets, she will go through. If neither scenario comes to fruition, things will be decided on Friday in the Chetumal Group – with Swiatek holding a nice advantage having won all four sets she has played while dropping just 11 games.
Swiatek notches her tenth Top-10 win of the season and improves to 65-11 overall. Gauff, still in contention, falls to 50-15, and 1-1 so far at the WTA Finals.