By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, August 18, 2023
Coco Gauff recovered from a break down in both sets stopping Jasmine Paolini to set up a Cincinnati semifinal showdown vs. world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
Photo credit: Western & Southern Open Facebook
Elevating from a break down in both sets, Coco Gauff continued her winning American ascent.
An explosive Gauff soared through six straight games sweeping qualifier Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 to land a spot in her first Cincinnati semifinal.
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Tossing her racquet in frustration after going down 0-2 in the second set, Gauff picked up the stick and picked Paolini apart. Gauff did not drop another game after her Head hurl to raise her 2023 record to 35-13.
It is Gauff's third career WTA 1000 semifinal.
"The first set, the first couple of games, she came out swinging and it was my first time playing on this court and this court is a lot faster than the stadium court," Gauff said in her on-court interview afterward. "So I was like trying to get used to that.
"The second set, I showed a little anger, but you know it was needed because otherwise the anger comes out in the rallies so I'd rather it come out in between points. Usually they say don't throw your racquet, but I won six games in a row so what can you do, I don't know, just don't hurt anyone."
Continuing her quest to become the first American woman since Madison Keys in 2019 to rule the Queen City, Gauff faces the ultimate challenge in a semifinal showdown vs. world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and a familiar question.
Can the seventh-seeded Gauff configure a winning flight plan to avoid another crash and burn against Swiatek
Four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek has pounded Gauff's weaker forehand wing like a pinata winning all seven of their prior meetings, including a 6-4, 6-2 Roland Garros quarterfinal win in their most recent encounter last June. That came a year after Swiatek thrashed Gauff 6-1, 6-3 in the 2022 French Open final.
Swiatek has swept all 14 sets she's played against Gauff. In eight hard court sets they've played, Gauff has managed to win more than three games just once, which came in a 6-4, 6-2 Dubai semifinal loss to Swiatek earlier this year.
"I don't have a good track record against her," Gauff said of Swiatek. "I'm hoping that with the improvements that I made... I feel like the French Open match that I played her, even though it was a straight-sets scoreline, I think I made some improvements against her since the last time I played her. I don't know.
"I'm just really going to go out there and continue to follow the plan that I've been doing in the last couple of my matches. I do feel a lot more confident going into it tomorrow. But she's not an easy opponent to play, especially against me. I think I really just got to take it point by point and try to stay mentally engaged every ball."
The good news for Gauff is she has not dropped a set in three tournament wins whereas Swiatek has looked a bit more vulnerable. The powerful Pole dropped the opening set yesterday before stopping Qinwen Zheng 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Today, Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova twice served for the first set against Swiatek—at 5-4 and again at 6-5—before the four-time Grand Slam champion rallied for a 7-6(3), 6-1 victory.
Overall, Gauff has won nine of her last 10 matches and has earned some free points on her first serve on the faster Cincinnati courts. Can Gauff, who has tried to apply her all-court acumen working with coaches Pere Riba and Brad Gilbert, use her variety and play enough offense to prevent Swiatek from dominating the forehand-to-forehand pattern as she has throughout a one-sided rivalry?
Swiatek said there are no surprises when she squares off against Gauff.
"Coco, obviously we played plenty of times," Swiatek said. "I kind of know her game. But you never know what she's going to comeup with. I'll be ready and kind of focus on myself. I think after these couple of matches, I already know how to play in these conditions, so I'll just use that experience and go for it."
The Washington, DC champion Gauff overcome sluggish starts in both sets by picking up the pace of her drives.
At the outset, Paolini was pushing the direction of rallies.
Launching herself into her topspin forehand, Paolini won eight of the first 10 points snatching a 2-0 lead before Gauff bounced back to break back in the third game.
Gauff converted her third set point when Paolini floated a double fault to end the 34-minute opener.
In an opening set that featured some lengthy baseline exchanges, Gauff's skill stinging the first serve and her willingness to crack returns down the line were key. Gauff won six of nine points played on Paolini's second serve and broke serve three times.
The 5'4" Paolini, like the 5'3" Dominika Cibulkova and the 5'7" Sebastian Baez, can crack the ball much bigger than her size suggests when she has time to set her feet.
The Paolini forehand was finding the mark crosscourt challenging Gauff's weaker wing. The Italian qualifier broke at love to start the second set and backed up the break to take a 2-0 lead for the second straight set.
The Delray Beach-born baseliner banged her first ace out wide working through a tricky hold for 1-2 then immediately ratcheted up the pressure on Paolini.
The Italian trampolined a second-serve off the tape, double-faulting away a break for the second time as Gauff evened the second set after four games.
The weight of Gauff's shots began to break down Paolini's defenses. The Italian slapped a forehand into net to face double break point. Paolini denied both break points, but couldn't handle a shoulder-high forehand and drove it deep to face a third break point.
Self-sabotage struck again as Paolini spit up her third double fault—all three coming on break points—to surrender serve and hand the teenager a 4-2 lead.
The 2022 US Open quarterfinalist converted six of 14 break points in a 72-minute victory.