Top-ranked Iga Swiatek advanced to the final of the French Open 2022 by beating Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-1 in a dominant victory that ties her with Serena Williams for the second-longest winning streak of this century. (More Tennis News)
Swiatek’s 34th in a row puts her one win away from both her second Roland Garros title and matching Venus Williams for the longest streak on the tour since 2000.
From 2-2 in the opener, Swiatek dropped only three points the rest of the first set. She then won the last nine points and clinched the victory with her only ace of the 64-minute match. The 20th-seeded Kasatkina has two career wins over reigning No. 1 players but hit 24 unforced errors to Swiatek’s 13.
Advertisement
Swiatek will face Coco Gauff in the final on Saturday. Swiatek improved to 41-3 this season with four of the wins coming against Kasatkina. Swiatek has won her last five tournaments and hasn’t lost since February. She’s now 15-0 on clay this season.
Kasatkina was a first-time Grand Slam semifinalist. American teenager Coco Gauff has reached her first Grand Slam final by beating Martina Trevisan of Italy 6-3, 6-1 at the French Open. The 18th-seeded Gauff will face No. 1 Iga Swiatek for the championship on Saturday.
Gauff and Trevisan were even at 3-all during their semifinal Thursday on a sunny, breezy afternoon at Court Philippe Chatrier. That’s when Gauff began using her improving forehand and long-terrific backhand to take control of points and grab the last three games of that set.
Advertisement
Trevisan, a 28-year-old from Italy who is ranked 59th, then took a medical timeout to have her right thigh treated and taped by a trainer before the start of the second set.
Gauff used a backhand winner to go up 3-1 in the second with her fifth break of the match. The 18-year-old American has accumulated 35 service breaks through six matches in the tournament while winning all 12 sets she’s played.
Meanwhile, the second-seeded pair of Ena Shibahara and Wesley Koolhof won the mixed doubles title at Roland Garros by defeating Ulrikke Eikeri and Joran Vliegen 7-6 (5), 6-2.
Shibahara and Koolhof trailed 5-2 in the first-set tiebreaker before winning the next five points. They dominated the second set, winning 10 straight points at one point en route to a 4-1 lead on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Shibahara, a native Californian who plays for Japan, served out the match and clinched the championship with an ace. It’s the first Grand Slam title for Shibahara and Koolhof, who is from the Netherlands.
