Coco Gauff broke through the barrier, holding her back to achieve her first top-10 victory in 2024. She beat Qinwen Zheng 7-6, 6-1, and stepped into the first clay semi-final of the year. Now, she awaits a big challenge in Iga Swiatek. While the Polish player is above her in most records, Gauff recently claimed one achievement, which puts her on top of the world number 1.

After beating Zheng, Gauff reached the semi-final of the Italian Open for the second time in her career. After suffering a slump on her favorite surface, the US Open champion finally found her rhythm to thump her opponents, and clinch a shining new record while doing it. As per Opta Ace, “Coco Gauff (6) has eclipsed Iga Swiatek (5) for the second-most WTA-1000 semi-finals made before the age of 21 since the introduction of the format in 2009; only Carline Wozniacki with eight has more. Impressive.”

Gauff also achieved a personal milestone in the match as she attained her first top-10 victory in the year. This will be the fourth semi-final for Gauff this year, and she will certainly aim to turn it into her second final of the year. Playing against Swiatek is the nightmare of many players. The Polish superstar is daunting on all surfaces, especially on clay.

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She has beaten Gauff 9 times, while the American has only beaten her once, on the hard court. Swiatek’s serve is one of her immaculate weapons, but Gauff has been practicing to counter this as she prepares to face her. 

Coco Gauff reveals returns on serve to be a significant part of training 

Gauff beat Paula Badosa with approximately 50% return points on her side, with a similar return points percentage against Zheng. After winning against Badosa, she revealed how she managed to improve her serves. “I think for me, it was just realizing that not everything needs to be a return winner. Also I did shorten my swings on the returns. I think just reps, honestly. That helps a lot, too. “

She further talked about adjusting her return position, “Also I kind of adjust where I stand sometimes. Sometimes I stand inside, sometimes I stand back. Depends on the server. Usually obviously bigger servers, you stand back.”

The American sensation still has a ways to go, but she has refined a much-needed skill, which helped her breadstick three players back-to-back. Some aspects of her game, such as her serve and forehand, can be improved. She will need to work on them quickly if she aims to beat Swiatek.