Although
Iga Swiatek has a lengthy lead in her rivalry with
Coco Gauff, former World No.4 Greg Rusedski believes the American would have the upper hand should both ladies clash the the upcoming
Wimbledon Championships.
Swiatek made quick work of Gauff in their latest encounter at the 2024 French Open semifinals, with the defending champion breezing past the American in straight sets. Following that victory, the Polish star holds an 11-1 lead over Gauff in career meetings. However, Rusedski is of the opinion that Gauff could swing the rivalry in her favor at Wimbledon.
The change in surface should favor Gauff, says Rusedski
With Wimbledon set to begin on July 1, Gauff will have some grass court matches under her belt after having reached the semifinal at Berlin last week. Conversely, Swiatek will only have practice matches to rely on as she pulled out of Berlin and did not accept any wild card events to the ongoing grass tournaments.
“Well I think, if you look at her (Swiatek), she’s won four French Opens, one US Open,” Rusedski said on Tennis Channel’s Inside-In. “For Coco, let’s be honest, grass against Iga, she’s licking her lips. She’s thinking, ‘That’s my time to start squaring up this rivalry’. She came to the forefront when she beat Venus Williams and announced herself to the world and the British public at Wimbledon [in 2019].
“And I think Brad Gilbert has done a great job with her, and I think they’re probably saying, ‘Okay, semis [at the French Open] is solid, we didn’t play our best in the semis. But now we got Wimbledon coming on, this is our one after winning the US Open last year.’
“So I think the rivalry will be there, but on clay (Swiatek), it’s like watching Rafa. We’ve got [Roger] Federer, [Novak] Djokovic, [Andy] Murray, [Stan] Wawrinka, all those guys. I’m sorry, it’s just, that’s what Swiatek is now. I’m hoping that Coco can bring her A-game to Wimbledon this year and has got a real shot to win.
“Let’s not forget [Aryna] Sabalenka got ill this year at the French. And there’s a few other names, there’s [Elena] Rybakina and players like that on the grass courts. So Wimbledon’s wide open. And you’re talking about Wimbledon coming up — Swiatek is not one of the favorites for the title.”
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