Coco Gauff Comes Up Short Against Iga Swiatek
Locker Room
November 2, 2023
Coco Gauff got blown away by a fickle wind and the steely brilliance of Iga Swiatek at the WTA finals.
The dazzling Pole is determined to regain the world number one spot. And she is certainly going the right way about it.
Swiatek stormed towards the semi-finals with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over the US Open champion.
Coco Gauff could eventually get her revenge at Wimbledon 2024 – because she is the more comfortable player on grass.
And Gauff was on the comeback trail in the second set when she showed terrific courage to hold serve and consolidate after an epic, twelve-minute game.
The popular American even served to level the match at 5-4. But that’s where it all went horribly wrong in blustery conditions.
Coco Gauff served four double faults in succession to squander her opportunity to get right back into the contest. The blustery wind had been a nightmare for her.
However, Gauff had only won forty per cent of her first serves in the opening set. And this is clearly an area of her game she needs to strengthen, if she too is to reach these WTA semi-finals.
There had been no obvious issue when she had thrashed Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur in her opening match. But pressure does strange things to people.
Swiatek seized her moment and rarely made unforced errors in the unfolding slugfest. In the final analysis, Iga was more confident and more ruthless.
She said later: ‘I knew it wouldn’t be easy because Coco is such a competitor and she came back in the second set. But in those situations you just have to focus on yourself.’
That’s exactly what Swiatek did as she cleaned up the final three games with ease.
‘It was great to hear the Polish crowd cheering for me,’ she said afterwards. ‘Thank you!’
Coco Gauff will come back strong like she always does. And she will be just as big a superstar as Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon 2024.
Don’t forget Emma Raducanu will be back in the mix at her home Grand Slam too.
And that’s before we even talk about the men, including all-time-great Novak Djokovic and young sensations Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton!
Will you join royalty and movie stars on Centre Court to see the best of the action?
Wimbledon 2024 could be last time out for Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal.
Don’t miss the chance to see the legends before it’s too late.
Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton will win new fans at the All England Club for sure. They could even both win Wimbledon 2024!