The French Open final is set, with world No. 1 Iga Swiatek set to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.
Swiatek took care of top-ranked American Coco Gauff in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 in Thursday’s French Open semifinal. Afterward, Swiatek expressed high praise for Gauff’s performance.
“She is progressing a lot. You can see by her results. Last year’s US Open, for sure, showed that she’s tough. At this age, it’s kind of obvious that she’s going to just grow. So it’s nice to see her handling well everything around her, because it’s not easy,” Swiatek noted. “I’m sure we’re going to have plenty more really intense matches on the really highest level.”
For Gauff, the tournament isn’t a total loss. She’ll move up to a personal best world No. 2 this week after 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva upset former No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka at the French Open to become the youngest major semifinalist since 1997.
Gauff will now be the first American tennis player — male or female — to be ranked inside the top two since Serena…
