Iga Swiatek’s dominance of Coco Gauff shows no sign of waning, with this latest defeat halting another opportunity for a change in positions at the top of the WTA Rankings.
The two biggest young stars in the women’s game are likely to do battle many more times in their careers but Gauff has a lot of work to do if she is to make it a real rivalry.
She defeated Swiatek in Cincinnati last summer but has failed to win a set in the other 10 matches and, despite a great start on the Italian clay, fell to a 6-4 6-3 loss.
The world number one is on an 11-match winning streak after lifting the trophy in Madrid a fortnight ago and will bid to make it back-to-back titles this weekend.
Gauff, who lost to Swiatek in her first grand slam final at the French Open two years ago, came out firing, breaking serve at the first opportunity.
She had two chances to make it 3-0 but could not convert them and from there the top seed began to take control, eventually winning the opening set when Gauff’s serve let her down.
The American fought hard to try to stay with Swiatek in the second set and had one chance to get back on serve at 4-3 but she could not take it and her challenge came to an end shortly afterwards.
It was another crushing defeat for Gauff, who was denied a chance to move up to No 2 in the WTA Rankings for the first time in her career.
More significantly, the win left Gauff facing up to a stark reality as she was asked whether she felt capable of beating Swiatek if they met at the French Open.
“I know she’s the one to beat if I want to win Roland Garros,” said US Open champion Gauff. “I’m going to take what I learned from today and try to apply that next time we play, which I hope is at Roland Garros.
“I wanted to be aggressive, which I felt like I did. I think I missed some balls in some clutch moments.
“That’s what being aggressive is. I think if I continue to play in this way, I will be more consistent in that.
“I wish my first-serve percentage was higher. I was winning a lot of first-serve points and I knew that would be key to win today. I didn’t get in as many as I would like to.
“I thought that I played well the majority of the match. It came down to certain moments. Yeah, she came up clutch.
“She had a lot of balls on the line, close to the line, which is what she does. It just happened at some tough moments for me.”
The aura Swiatek brings on to court is intimidating her rivals, with only Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina appearing to have the firepower from the back of the court to trouble the three-time French Open queen.
Is Swiatek unbeatable on clay when she is at her best? It is a question she answered after her win against Gauff.
“No. If I would feel that way, I wouldn’t play so well,” she said when asked about the theory that she is unbeatable on the red dirt.
“I always try to remind myself that I shouldn’t expect anything, take anything for granted. Usually, when I feel like this one is going to be a winner, I’m going to win this game, it doesn’t happen, so…
“I have to think a little bit differently to be more efficient.
“I think this match gave me confidence that I can win even though I’m not feeling the best way or I’m stressed at the beginning. I can still get the score back.
“Maybe I’m less worried before matches because I know even if I’m going to be in trouble, I’ll be able to recover from it maybe if I’m going to work hard. This is the kind of feeling that I have.”