Iga Swiatek beats enraged Coco Gauff to set up French Open final date with Jasmine Paolini
Coco Gauff of the US congratulates Poland's Iga Swiatek who won the French #open semi-final match at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris
Iga Swiatek moved one step away from a fourth French Open title as Coco Gauff was reduced to tears during her semi-final exit.
An emotional Gauff had a blazing row with umpire Aurelie Tourte, telling the official she "should be ashamed" for not overturning a call.
The 20-year-old American then wiped tears from her eyes as boos rang out all around Court Philippe Chatrier.
World number one Swiatek, a seemingly unstoppable force at Roland Garros, went on to register her 20th consecutive win here, 6-2 6-4.
Swiatek is now just one victory away from becoming the first woman to claim three consecutive French Open titles since Justine Henin in 2007.
It was another disheartening afternoon for Gauff, who is on the wrong half of one of sport's most one-sided rivalries.
Swiatek has now won 11 of their 12 meetings, and did not drop a single set in any of those victories.
One win away from the three-peat ??#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/blolSgUuDu
- Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2024
The Pole was already a set ahead, thanks in no small part to 18 unforced errors from Gauff's racket, when the American returned a Swiatek serve as it was called out.
Tourte overruled the call and, when the return floated out, awarded the point to Swiatek, to Gauff's utter disbelief.
"He called it and then I hit it. I'm a thousand per cent sure," Gauff raged. "If he called it before I hit it, I stop my reaction. I didn't even finish my follow-through."
Tourte was adamant the call did not affect Gauff's shot.
“You're wrong,” insisted Gauff. “It's the second time that happened. You should be ashamed. It's a grand slam semi-final, know the rules of the game.”
Gauff doubled down on her opinion afterwards, calling for video replays to be used.
“I think tennis is the only sport where not only we don't have the VR system, but a lot of times the decisions are made by one person,” she said.
“At this point it's almost ridiculous that we don't have it. Not also just speaking because that happened to me, but I just think every sport has it.
“Also, there are so many decisions that are made, and it sucks as a player to go back or online and you see that you were completely right, and it's like, what does that give you in that moment?”
Gauff, fuelled by a sense of injustice, went on to break Swiatek's serve for the first time in the match to lead 3-1 in the second set.
But Swiatek hit back and although Gauff saved three match points, a forehand wide on the fourth sent the favourite through to another Paris final.
“I think I was pretty intense and putting pressure on Coco," said Swiatek.
“Even though I got broken at the beginning of the second set, I knew that I can come back quickly, and I got my level of intensity a little bit higher to do that.
“I think most of the things overall in my game worked today, so I'm proud of myself.”
Meanwhile, Jasmine Paolini crushed Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva 6-3 6-1 to bulldoze her way into the French Open final and continue Italy's Roland Garros fairytale.
The diminutive 28-year-old is the first Italian player to reach the final on the Paris clay since doubles partner Sara Errani in 2012, and her resounding victory came two days after compatriot Jannik Sinner made it to the last four in the men's draw, guaranteeing he would be world number one next week.
Paolini, who used her booming forehand to devastating effect on court Philippe Chatrier, will face the ultimate challenge in Iga Swiatek, after the world number one and two-time defending champion made light work of Coco Gauff in the other semi-final.
Andreeva, who had won her previous match against Paolini in Madrid in April, failed to make the most of the few opportunities she had, and made too many unforced errors to stand a chance in what was both players' first appearance in a Grand Slam semi-final.
