I Have a Lot of Belief

By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Photo credit: Andy Cheung/Getty

Coco Gauff concedes she spent time looking up to Iga Swiatek in the rankings and on court.

When Gauff faces defending Madrid champion Swiatek in tomorrow’s Mutua Madrid Open semifinals, she says she’ll carry more than her Head racquet bag on court—she’ll be armed with the self belief that comes from sweeping Swiatek in their last two meetings.

Overall, the second-ranked Swiatek has dominated Gauff winning 11 of their 14 meetings, including sweeping all 10 sets they’ve played on clay. In fact, Gauff has only managed to win more than five games in a clay-court set just once in their rivalry and that came in a 7-6(3), 6-3 defeat in their maiden meeting in the 2021 Rome semifinals.

Despite that ignominious record, Gauff says she’s confident heading into their latest encounter because she’s scored straight-sets wins over Swiatek in their last two meetings. And because she believes she’s learned to play the opponent and not the reigning Roland Garros champion’s record as she did in the past.

“I think just belief [is the difference],” Gauff told the media in Madrid today after defeating Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-1. “In the beginning of our matchups, I mean, she was a top player, and I felt like I maybe kind of wrote myself off before the match even came, and now obviously I have a lot of belief.

“Yeah, she’s a tough opponent and, yeah, I don’t think about that head-to-head anymore. I mean, maybe at the beginning I did. Now I just treat it as a new match, new opportunity each time. And, yeah, I’ll go out there with confidence, and I believe that I have the game that I can win the match.”

Of course, Swiatek has persistently pounded Gauff’s weaker forehand wing commanding their clay-court clashes, including a 6-1, 6-3 sweep in the 2022 Roland Garros final. Swiatek is also the best clay-court mover in the game, which has has diminished one of the biggest weapons Gauff holds over the rest of the world, her eye-popping speed and court coverage.

Both Slam champions figure to be extremely hungry for success tomorrow. Swiatek is playing for her first final since she stopped Jasmine Paolini to win Roland Garros last June.

The 21-year-old Gauff is bidding for her first final since she won the WTA Finals crown last November defeating US Open finalist Jessica Pegula, No. 2 Swiatek, No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic gold-medal champion Zheng Qinwen to take her biggest title since the 2023 US Open.

Today, Australian Open champion Madison Keys ripped returns right back at Swiatek jamming her up to dish the first bagel set the Pole has absorbed on clay since the 2019 Roland Garros when Olympic gold-medal champion Monica Puig shut her out in the first set. Still, Swiatek showed resilience rallying for an 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 triumph that saw her win five games in a row to close Keys.

One question in tomorrow’s semifinal: Can Gauff attack the Swiatek second serve wtih the same success players like Andreeva, who defeated the second seed back-to-back in Dubai and Indian Wells, and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, who is 6-0 lifetime vs. the Pole, have done forcing Swiatek to defend?

Or will Gauff resort to the tactic she’s used against Swiatek in the past, which is play high, heavy topspin forehands down the line to the Roland Garros champion’s backhand wing to try to elicit backhand exchanges?

Throughout much of Madrid, Gauff has served with confidence.

Facing Andreeva today, the 2023 US Open champion won 22 of 26 first-serve points and dropped serve only twice. Against Olympic gold-medal champion Belinda Bencic in the round of 16, Gauff also won 22 of 26 first-serve points and faced only one break point.

After ousting Andreeva today, Gauff said she likes her chances against anyone if she can play to this lofty level.

“I feel like I always feel like I have a good chance, I mean, against anybody I play,” Gauff told the media in Madrid. “If I go into the match thinking I don’t, then I’ve already lost the match.

“No, I don’t pay attention to the sets [vs. Swiatek] or anything, because at the end of the day it’s a new week, new time. I lost the first set this tournament, 6-0, and everybody was like, Ooh, she’s going to lose next round, or whatever.

“And so it’s just tennis, like, you lose, you reset, you start again. Yeah, I’m going to expect her to play some great tennis and probably her best tennis, and I’ll try to match that by playing my best tennis.”