PARIS: Iga Swiatek romped into her second French Open final on Thursday and will face Coco Gauff for the title after the teenager became the youngest Grand Slam finalist since 2004.

World number one Swiatek, the 2020 Roland Garros champion, cruised to a dominant 6-2, 6-1 semi-final victory over Russian Daria Kasatkina after just 64 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.

That extended her unbeaten streak to 34 matches.

Swiatek will equal Venus Williams’ record for the longest women’s winning run since 2000 if she beats 18-year-old Gauff, who brushed aside Martina Trevisan 6-3, 6-1, on Saturday.

“I’m so grateful. It’s easier to play matches with this kind of support,” Swiatek, who won 10 of the last 11 games, said in her on-court interview.

“It’s surprising this week how much they’re supporting me. I try to treat every match in the same way because when I think about how it’s the biggest match of the season so far, it stresses me out.”

It will be the 21-year-old’s second major final, as she looks to win a sixth consecutive WTA title.

Swiatek started with a double fault but held and broke in the second game, only for Kasatkina to break back and level for 2-2.

The Russian’s game, however, was riddled with unforced errors and Swiatek collected free points to steal her opponent’s serve again for 4-2.

She then won eight points in a row to wrap up the opening set with a crosscourt backhand return that left Kasatkina with her feet stuck on the red dirt.

Swiatek kept her foot on the gas to take the early lead in the second set.

But Kasatkina, who had lost all their three encounters in straight sets this season, stemmed the bleeding with a hold for 1-1.

It was only a brief relief for the world number 20, who was being bludgeoned by Swiatek’s precise and powerful forehands.

The top seed won all the remaining games, allowing a sorry Kasatkina only nine points in the second set, and finished it off with an ace.

Gauff brushed aside Trevisan in a nervous match which saw both players featuring in a major semi-final for the first time.

The players made 37 unforced errors between them in a poor first set before Gauff upped her game to race through the second.

The 18th seed will be a heavy underdog against Swiatek, but says she is not feeling the pressure.

“It’s a Grand Slam final but there are so many things going on in the world right now, especially in the US, so I don’t think it’s worth stressing about it,” said Gauff.

Second seeds Ena Shibahara and Wesley Koolhof won the mixed doubles title earlier Thursday with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 victory over Ulrikke Eikeri of Norway and Belgium’s Joran Vliegen.

CILIC, RUUD REACH SEMIS FOR FIRST TIME

On Wednesday, Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud moved into the semi-finals for the first time courtesy of two big-hitting displays which overwhelmed their opponents.

Cilic fired 33 aces and 88 winners past seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev in a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (10-2) win.

Eighth seed Ruud booked a clash against the 33-year-old Croat when he became the first Norwegian man to reach a Grand Slam semi-final with a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 victory over Danish teenager Holger Rune.

Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, needed four hours and 10 minutes to defeat Rublev who has now lost all of his five quarter-final appearances at the Slams.

The 20th seeded Cilic is only the fifth active men’s player after Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray to make the semi-finals at all four majors.

“The fifth set was an incredible battle,” said Cilic who is in his first Grand Slam semi-final in four years.

Rune, ranked 40, had knocked out fourth seed and 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round.

The 19-year-old was bidding to become the first Danish man to reach the last-four in Paris and first at any Slam since Jan Leschly at the 1967 US Championships. However, Ruud overpowered the youngster, firing 13 aces and 55 winners while Rune had to fight off 12 of 17 break points carved out by the Norwegian.

Friday’s other semi-final will see Rafael Nadal take on Alexander Zverev after his epic quarter-final win over Novak Djokovic.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2022