cnn
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Iga Świątek remains on course to retain her French Open title after beating Coco Gauff 6-4 6-2 to reach the Roland-Garros semi-finals.
In a rematch of last year's final, Świątek finally had too much quality for Gauff to handle, as her relentless power and consistency finally brought the American down.
Świątek has beaten Gauff in all seven of their meetings on the WTA Tour, and the teenager has yet to take a set from the Polish world number one.
Next up for Świątek is Beatriz Haddad Maia, who defeated Ons Jabeur in three sets on Wednesday to become the first Brazilian woman to reach a Grand Slam semi-final in the Open Era.
“After the match I feel quite satisfied with my game,” a modest Świątek, who has already reached the semifinals in four of the last six Grand Slams, told the Tennis Channel.
“I'm happy because I was able to achieve it in two sets and in the first set, in the important moments, I was more solid. “It wasn't easy, especially with the wind today, but I'm happy to have made it to the semi-final.”
Facing Świątek on clay must currently be one of the most daunting prospects in the sport and the 22-year-old once faced Gauff in imposing and irresistible fashion, particularly when she pulled away in the second set.
Gauff kept pace with her opponent in the first set as the pair traded early breaks of serve. However, the pressure soon disappeared as Gauff served at 4-5 to stay in the set as Świątek broke at love to take the lead in the match.
It turned out to be the beginning of the end for Gauff, who was unable to stop Świątek's inevitable march to victory.
If there were still fans betting against Świątek in Paris, now that number will surely be even smaller.
The three-time Grand Slam winner has lost just 15 games, including a 5-1 win against Lesia Tsurenko, during this run to the semi-finals and is the heavy favorite to lift her third title at Roland-Garros.
Świątek, according to Opta, is the first player since Conchita Martínez in 1995 to reach the semi-finals of the French Open having lost 15 games or less.
World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who plays Karolína Muchová in the semifinals on Thursday, certainly has the weapons to hurt Świątek, but facing the Pole on clay, perhaps Sabalenka's least favorite surface, is a prospect. completely different.
With many of his matches ending so quickly (he's landed four bagels so far in the tournament), Świątek has found himself with a lot of downtime in Paris.
So what does the defending champion do to pass the time and relax when she's off the court?
“Well, I finished watching Madam Secretary and now I'm watching the second season of Ted Lasso, but it's pretty short, so I guess I'll finish tomorrow,” Świątek joked.
It's fair to say he may have enough time to finish a few more heats before the tournament ends.
