Coco Gauff sat plain-faced in her French Open changeover chair after moving one set away from her first Grand Slam final at 18 — just 18! — and calmly snacked on some cut-up pieces of pineapple and other fruit, seemingly without a care in the world.
Her opponent in Thursday’s semifinals at Roland Garros,
Martina Trevisan, was taking a medical timeout so her right thigh could be
treated and taped by a trainer. It was the sort of delay that might rattle some
players, might make them slow down, relinquish momentum, think too much about
what’s at stake.
Not Gauff. Not on this sunny, breezy afternoon at Court
Philippe Chatrier. When the American arrived in Paris, she celebrated her
recent high school graduation by posing for cap-and-gown photos near the Eiffel
Tower while holding her diploma. After wrapping up a 6-3, 6-1 victory over the
59th-ranked Trevisan, Gauff will be back in that stadium on Saturday to face
No. 1 Iga Swiatek for the championship.
Swiatek, who won the 2020 French Open, is on a 34-match
winning streak after eliminating No. 20 Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-1 on Thursday.
“I’m in a mindset now like: ‘It doesn’t matter.’ I mean, I’m
going to be happy, regardless. My parents are going to love me, regardless. So
I’m just going to go into it like another match,” the 18th-seeded Gauff said.
“I mean, yeah, it’s a Grand Slam final, but there are so many things going on
in the world right now, and especially in the U.S. a lot of stuff is happening
right now, so I think it’s not important to stress over a tennis match.”
And then, in a message referring to the recent series of
mass shootings in her home country, Gauff wrote in marker on a courtside TV
camera: “Peace. End gun violence.”
A willingness to speak out about issues of significance, and
a wide-lens view of the world, reflect the sort of maturity that has served her
well, especially with so much attention from such a young age. She won the
French Open junior title at 14. She became the youngest qualifier in Wimbledon
history and then beat Venus Williams on the way to the fourth round there at
15.
Gauff, who turned 18 in March, is the youngest finalist at
the clay-court major tournament since 2001, when Kim Clijsters was the
runner-up a day after her 18th birthday.
“I’m a little bit in shock right now,” Gauff said with a
chuckle after using her still-improving forehand to open up the court and her
long-terrific backhand to seal points against Trevisan. “I didn’t know how to
react at the end of the match. I have no words to describe how I feel.”
Gauff has won all 12 sets she has played over the past two
weeks. She did not need to navigate the most arduous path to get this far:
Because of all manner of surprising results and early exits by top players from
the bracket, she has faced only one seeded foe so far, No. 31 Elise Mertens.
Now, in Swiatek, comes someone who will present a much
tougher test and will require a higher level of quality.
The men’s semifinals are Friday, with 13-time French Open
champion Rafael Nadal playing No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev, and 2014 U.S. Open
champion Marin Cilic facing No. 8 Casper Ruud.
Swiatek has won her past five tournaments, last losing in
February, against 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
The only Polish player to win a major singles title in
tennis is now on a winning streak that equals one Serena Williams had in 2013.
The only longer run this century was a 35-match unbeaten stretch by Venus
Williams in 2000.
With only faint wisps of clouds overhead and the temperature
hovering around 75 degrees Fahrenheit (about 25 Celsius), the two women’s
semifinals followed a similar pattern.
Swiatek and Kasatkina were even at 2-all. But Swiatek
claimed 10 of the last 11 games.
Gauff and Trevisan were even at 3-all. But Gauff claimed
nine of the last 10 games.
Gauff won six of Trevisan’s service games, raising her
tournament total to 35 breaks in six matches.
Trevisan is a 28-year-old left-hander who entered the day on
a 10-match winning streak, including her first career WTA title at Rabat,
Morocco, a week before play began at Roland Garros. She also defeated Gauff the
only previous time they played — in the second round in Paris two years ago.
But Gauff is nothing if not a learner and a striver, someone
who looks better and better with a racket in her hand each time she takes the
court.
A big part of that, perhaps bigger than her speedy serves
that reached 115 mph (185 kph) on Thursday, is her preternatural cool, an old
soul’s ability to see an obstacle and not be daunted.
Early on, a Trevisan shot landed near a baseline and was
ruled in to make it 30-all. Gauff asked chair umpire Marijana Veljovic to come
get a closer look, and the pair engaged in an extended discussion, both
pointing at the landing spot. Gauff crouched down to inspect as some spectators
whistled and jeered, as they often do here when players argue a ruling.
A smattering of boos then cascaded on Gauff when she walked
to the net to check a mark after one of her backhands landed wide during a game
in which Trevisan would break back to make it 3-all.
Unbothered, Gauff broke right back to lead 4-3, smacking a
backhand winner that brought Mom and Dad out of their seats in the player guest
box. The match would continue for about 50 more minutes, but the outcome would
never again be in any real doubt.
“Honestly I wasn’t nervous going in today. I haven’t been
nervous at all, which is a surprise,” Gauff said. “The only time I get a little
nervous is maybe in the morning. I go for a walk in the morning so that kind of
clears my head and after that, I feel great.” -AP