Gauff: “Got a lot of comments on how I was gonna lose badly to Swiatek”

The fourth day of the 2024 WTA Finals brought Coco Gauff double delight as the American broke a four-match losing streak against her rival Iga Swiatek in an Orange Group clash to assure a place in the semi-finals of the season-ending championships.

Gauff defeated defending champion Swiatek 6-3, 6-4, her first straight-set win over the Pole, in an hour 49 at the King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, despite a crummy serving display reflected in her 11 double faults.

“Today, it was a good match for me,” Gauff said in her post-match presser. “Playing Iga’s tough for me but I’m really happy how I managed to play throughout the match. Yeah, it was a fun crowd environment, it was pretty exciting. I’m glad to get through today.”

This result marked only the second success for Gauff in 13 meetings with the world No 2, who has dominated the head-to-head to date.

While answering a question about juggling between the joy and pressure of playing tennis professionally, the American revealed reading social media comments predicting her loss before the match. Thus, she felt fulfilled after beating Swiatek, against all expectations — the idea that has kept her competitive spirit burning.

“I think for me, honestly… pettiness,” Gauff added laughing. “Yeah, I think that’s the answer. I just love to say I’m right and stuff, obviously I don’t win all the time but specifically today I got a lot of comments on how I was gonna lose badly [to Swiatek] today. So I was like, ‘Okay, we’ll see!’

“So yeah, honestly it’s just liking the idea of proving people wrong and letting your racquet do the talking. I use it as motivation. Before, I used it as pressure, the expectations are always going to be there for me and I kinda turned it into the thing that, ‘People are expecting so much from you that means people see potential in you so you should see the potential in yourself.’”

WTA Finals Standings: Gauff tops Group Orange

American Coco Gauff rose to the top of Orange Group as the only woman in the quartet to secure two wins thus far. Here’s how the 2024 WTA Finals group standings look after fourth day of play:

• Orange Group (Wins/Losses)

1. Coco Gauff (2/0)
2. Barbora Krejcikova (1/1)
3. Iga Swiatek (1/1)
4. Jessica Pegula (0/2)

• Purple Group (Wins/Losses)

1. Aryna Sabalenka (2/0)
2. Jasmine Paolini (1/1)
3. Zheng Qinwen (1/1)
4. Elena Rybakina (0/2)

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