Gauff tops Swiatek to reach Madrid final against World No. 1 Sabalenka
Gauff defeats Swiatek to secure a spot in the Madrid final against the World No.
TroibNews 
Coco Gauff dominated defending champion Iga Swiatek with a score of 6-1, 6-1 on Thursday, securing her spot in the Madrid Open women's singles final for the first time.
Gauff successfully broke Swiatek's serve three times in the first set and twice in the second, completing a swift semifinal victory in just 64 minutes against the second-ranked Polish player at the clay-court event in Madrid.
In the final, the American will face top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus, who advanced by defeating Elina Svitolina of Ukraine with a score of 6-3, 7-5, marking her fourth appearance in the Madrid final.
This victory signifies Gauff's first win against Swiatek on clay.
"The mentality that I had in the whole match was aggressive," the World No. 4 shared. "Maybe it wasn't her best level today, but I think I forced her into some awkward positions."
Swiatek had successfully rallied to win in the quarterfinals after losing her first set 6-0 to Madison Keys on Wednesday.
"I couldn't really get my level up," the four-time French Open champion reflected. "Coco played good, but I think it's on me that I didn't really move well, I wasn't ready to play back the shots with heaviness, and with that kind of game. It was pretty bad."
It marked the first time since a 6-0, 6-2 loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Birmingham in 2019 that Swiatek won two games or fewer in a match across any surface.
"For me," Gauff added, "it was just making sure my level stayed the same. In the second, I raised it."
Sabalenka returned to the final after ending Svitolina's unbeaten streak on clay this year, during which she had maintained a perfect 9-0 record without dropping a set.
Sabalenka previously won the title in Madrid in 2021 and 2023, and was the runner-up to Swiatek last year.
Gauff holds a 5-4 record against Sabalenka, having won their only previous clay meeting in Rome in 2021. The American also triumphed in their most recent encounter at the 2024 Women's Tennis Association Finals in Riyadh.
After her victory over Svitolina, Sabalenka became the first player to achieve 30 main-draw wins at WTA events in 2025.
Rohan Mehta for TROIB News
Gauff successfully broke Swiatek's serve three times in the first set and twice in the second, completing a swift semifinal victory in just 64 minutes against the second-ranked Polish player at the clay-court event in Madrid.
In the final, the American will face top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus, who advanced by defeating Elina Svitolina of Ukraine with a score of 6-3, 7-5, marking her fourth appearance in the Madrid final.
This victory signifies Gauff's first win against Swiatek on clay.
"The mentality that I had in the whole match was aggressive," the World No. 4 shared. "Maybe it wasn't her best level today, but I think I forced her into some awkward positions."
Swiatek had successfully rallied to win in the quarterfinals after losing her first set 6-0 to Madison Keys on Wednesday.
"I couldn't really get my level up," the four-time French Open champion reflected. "Coco played good, but I think it's on me that I didn't really move well, I wasn't ready to play back the shots with heaviness, and with that kind of game. It was pretty bad."
It marked the first time since a 6-0, 6-2 loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Birmingham in 2019 that Swiatek won two games or fewer in a match across any surface.
"For me," Gauff added, "it was just making sure my level stayed the same. In the second, I raised it."
Sabalenka returned to the final after ending Svitolina's unbeaten streak on clay this year, during which she had maintained a perfect 9-0 record without dropping a set.
Sabalenka previously won the title in Madrid in 2021 and 2023, and was the runner-up to Swiatek last year.
Gauff holds a 5-4 record against Sabalenka, having won their only previous clay meeting in Rome in 2021. The American also triumphed in their most recent encounter at the 2024 Women's Tennis Association Finals in Riyadh.
After her victory over Svitolina, Sabalenka became the first player to achieve 30 main-draw wins at WTA events in 2025.
Rohan Mehta for TROIB News
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