Iga Swiatek eases into French Open final at Roland Garros

The world number one and hot title favourite put in a heavy metal performance to rock Russian Daria Kasatkina and reach the French Open final.

Swiatek, 20, won 6-2 6-1 in just 64 minutes of a one-sided semi on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

She said: “I try to treat every match the same way, and if I realise this is one of the most important matches of the season it stresses me out.

“So I just listen to music – Led Zeppelin, it really pumps me up – and use everything to help me.”

The Paris breeze initially caught Swiatek as she double-faulted the first point, and when Kasatkina scrambled an early break back for 2-2, another tough test looked on the cards.

But Kasatkina won just one more game while Swiatek took 20 of the last 23 points, finishing the job with an ace.

Her winning streak now stands at 34 matches and victory in Saturday’s final, against American teenager Coco Gauff, will match Serena Williams’ record for consecutive wins this century.

“For sure I’m even more happy with the performance than after the previous match, because I feel like my game is getting more and more solid,” added Swiatek, who won the title here in 2020.

“I can really loosen up when I’m getting advantage and when I’m having a break, so that’s great. I feel like I’m playing better every match.”

Gauff into first grand slam final

Gauff managed to shut out the noise to reach her first grand slam final.

The American teenager, who burst onto the scene at Wimbledon as a 15-year-old when she reached the fourth round in 2019, beat ear-splitting Italian Martina Trevisan 6-3 6-1.

It was a coming-of age performance from Gauff, now 18, who will face top seed Swiatek in a fresh-faced final.

“I’m a little bit in shock right now,” said Gauff.

“I played Martina two years ago and lost to her so I know how difficult she is to play, especially on clay.”

Gauff, whose measured, mature and at times inspirational response to being interviewed this fortnight has been a feature of the tournament, wrote ‘peace, end gun violence now’ on the camera lens as she walked off court.

She added: “I’m in the mindset that I’m going to be happy regardless. Yes, it’s a grand slam final but there’s so many things going on in the world, especially in the US. I think it’s not important to stress over a tennis match.”

The biggest hindrance to Gauff seemed to be Trevisan’s distinctive post-shot moans, and in only the second game she complained to chair umpire Marijana Veljovic, saying “when I’m hitting it she’s still screaming”.

It had little effect on the din from the other side of the net but that, and the whistling from the Paris crowd when she disputed a line call, did not knock Gauff out of her stride.

Gauff’s victory, built on her speed and power allied to a misfiring Trevisan serve and an unforced error count of 36, means a high-calibre final has emerged from the wreckage of a women’s competition which saw nine of the top 10 seeds eliminated before the end of the first week.