American defeats Trevisan while World No.1 beats Kasatkina

PARIS: American teenager Coco Gauff crushed Italy’s Martina Trevisan 6-3, 6-1 on Thursday to become the youngest French Open finalist in 21 years and set up a showcase clash against World No.1 Iga Swiatek.

The 18-year-old Gauff, who was already in unknown Grand Slam territory with her first semi-final spot, will next face Polish top seed Swiatek, who cruised into Saturday’s final with a 6-2, 6-1 demolition of Russian Daria Kasatkina. “I am a little bit in shock right now. I have no words to describe how I feel right now,” Gauff said in an on-court interview.

“Honestly, I was not nervous going in, which is a surprise. The only time I get a bit nervous is in the morning. I go for a walk and that clears my head.” Gauff, who is yet to drop a set in the tournament and is the youngest finalist at any Grand Slam in 18 years, needed time to find her range, trading two early breaks each with Trevisan.

But, once she found a way to neutralise the left-hander’s punishing forehand, Gauff breezed through the first set by winning the last three games. “I had to be more patient,” Gauff said. “Being American, I grew up hitting like this – hitting hard. I had to remind myself that this (a particular point) is not the one to attack. I played her (Trevisan) two years ago and I lost against her. I know how difficult it is to play against her,” added Gauff.

The 28-year-old Trevisan, bidding to become the lowest-ranked finalist in the event’s history (placed 59th), took a medical break to strap up her right calf. But, things just got worse for her as she piled up 36 errors in total. Meanwhile, Gauff stepped in to whip her backhands deep and moved her opponent around.

Ranked 23rd in the world,

Gauff broke her again in a game that lasted 14 minutes to go 3-1 up and never looked back, sealing her biggest career victory on her first match point. Earlier, Swiatek continued her march towards a second French Open title in three years when she demolished Kasatkina, a result that extended her winning streak to 34 matches.

The World No.1 conceded an early break but made the most of Kasatkina’s string of unforced errors, peppering court Philippe Chatrier with winners. Swiatek, the 2020 champion, has not lost since February and has matched Serena William’s winning run from 2013, having now lost only two sets in her last four tournaments.

Against her Russian opponent, Poland’s Swiatek played with a ribbon in the colours of the Ukrainian flag that was pinned to her hat.

Women’s singles: Semi-finals:

M Trevisan lost to C Gauff 3-6, 1-6; I Swiatek bt D Kasatkina 6-2, 6-1

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