Iga Świątek continues pursuit of fourth French Open title with semifinal victory against Coco Gauff

(CNN) —& Iga Świątek& marched into her fourth& French Open& final with an impressive 6-2 6-4 victory against American& Coco Gauff& on Thursday. The Polish star will be the strong favorite to win her fifth grand slam title this weekend having extended her winning run to 18 matches in all competitions and 20 at Roland Garros. Against Gauff, Świątek has now been victorious in 11 of their past 12 meetings. In Saturday’s final, Świątek could win a third straight French Open title when she faces Italy’s Jasmine Paolini – a feat no woman has achieved since Justine Henin in 2007. “For sure, it was intense,” the 23-year-old said in her on-court interview after defeating Gauff. “In the second set it was kind of tight because we were breaking each other. I’m happy that I was consistent with my tactics, didn’t overthink stuff and just went for it at the end.” Having dropped only two games across her last two matches, Świątek was predictably pushed harder against Gauff in a repeat of the 2022 French Open final, but remained in control for large periods of the one-hour, 37-minute contest on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The world No. 1 broke her opponent in the...