Swiatek vs Gauff: Roland Garros Semi-Final Analysis
Evaluating Gauff's more aggressive gameplan.
cover 📸 credit: Roland Garros twitter
A heavy burden carried over from previous matches into the first semi-final of Roland Garros.
In short, Iga Swiatek had Coco Gauff’s number:
a 10-1 lead in their Head-to-Head record, including 4-0 on clay.
a 21-2 score in sets played.
2 wins in the last 2 Roland Garros editions — 2022 final and 2023 quarter-final.
a 6-4 6-3 win in Rome, 3 weeks ago (analysis here).
Gauff sensed it was time to try something different if she wanted a different outcome. So she opted for a more aggressive gameplan.
Set 1
As the match began, Gauff was intent on ripping as many balls as she could, from both sides, and as early as possible.
By the end of the set, the 2-6 score and the “eye-test” suggested it was a failed experiment.
Below are some of the points we are more likely to recollect from set 1, leading to the judgement that «Gauff was playing way out of her comfort zone. It was a bad gameplan».
📺 credit: Eurosport
Even Gauff’s body language after misses and a few looks traded with her team hinted she wasn’t totally convinced it was a winning strategy.
Interestingly, data from set 1 paints a different picture.