Iga Swiatek called Cori Gauff “a great player” and insisted she expected a tough match even though she entered the contest leading the head-to-head against the American 5-0.
On Friday, top-seeded Swiatek ousted Gauff 6-4 6-2 to progress into the Dubai final.
Swiatek routinely handled the job against Gauff but after the match had a bit of difficulty when giving her on-court interview and writing the message on the camera lens.
“I’m pretty happy that tennis is working out, because writing and talking — not my thing right now! Coco is a great player and I knew it was going to be tough. Especially after last year when we played five times, because you never know if you’re going to see something new or not,” Swiatek said after the match, per the WTA website.
How Swiatek defeated Gauff?
Swiatek missed out on a break point in the first game of the match but managed to break Gauff in the third game.
In the seventh game, Swiatek earned her second break of the match to open a comfortable 5-2 lead.
Up by a double break, Swiatek failed to serve out for the first set in the eighth game.
In the ninth game, Gauff saved two set points to cut the deficit to 5-4.
After failing to serve out for the opener in her first attempt and missing out on two set points, Swiatek managed to serve out for the first set in the 10th game.
Up by a set, Swiatek also got off to an outstanding start to the second set as she earned back-to-back breaks to take a 4-0 lead.
Down by a set and two breaks, Gauff had her back turned against the wall but she didn’t quit as the American managed to get one break back in the sixth game and cut the deficit to 4-2.
But after just getting one break back, Gauff dropped her serve again as Swiatek broke the American in the seventh game for a 5-2 lead.
In the eighth game, Swiatek routinely served out for the match.
In the Dubai final, Swiatek plays either Jessica Pegula or Barbora Krejcikova.