Iga Swiatek says she does not think that Cori Gauff hitting her was intentional.
During the second set of a 6-4 6-2 win over Gauff, Swiatek went tumbling to the clay after being hit by the American.
But Swiatek was able to keep her focus and complete a straight-set win over Gauff.
After the match, Swiatek was asked whether Gauff intentionally targeted to hit her.
“I don’t really know if it was her only option or not but I know Coco is a nice person and she would not mean it. So nothing personal. It happens,” Swiatek said.
Swiatek on beating Gauff for the seventh time
Swiatek now owns a perfect 7-0 head-to-head record against Gauff – all of the Pole’s seven wins over the American have come in straight sets.
Last year, Swiatek won her second French Open title after beating Gauff in the final 6-1 6-3.
This year, Gauff came out playing much better as the two players were tied to four games after the opening eight games before the Pole won eight of the next 10 games.
“It wasn’t easy, you know. Especially, the first set was really tight and Coco was really using the conditions here, so I’m really happy that I was able to kinda work on it and just win this match. You know, she’s pretty tall so she can reach a lot of balls, but I just tried to be solid, you know, and remember that even though she’s gonna catch it, I can run to the next ones. So I want to really play without pressure and just go for it. I’m actually happy that today was a tighter match and I’ll be ready, no matter what. Quarterfinals are sometimes, you know, the toughest matches. But we’ll see what’s gonna happen further in the tournament, but for sure, Coco, you know, she’s already been in that place. So, even though she’s young, she’s experienced and I’m pretty happy to be in the semifinal,” Swiatek said.