Oct. 6 (UPI) — No. 2 Iga Swiatek and No. 3 Coco Gauff won Friday at the China Open, advancing to play each other in the tournament semifinals and forming a rematch of the high-profile matchup for the fourth time this year.
“Honestly, when I stepped on the court, some days you just feel like no matter what’s going to happen, you’re going to win,” Gauff said, according to WTA.com.
“It [has] nothing to do with the opponent. It’s just like how you’re feeling. That’s how I felt when I stepped on court today.”
Swiatek first climbed into the semifinals with a 6(8)-7, 7-6(5), 6-1 win over No. 10 Caroline Garcia of France. The Polish tennis star converted 4 of 6 break point opportunities.
Gauff extended her 16-match winning streak with a 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 6 Maria Sakkari of Greece. The American totaled four aces and converted 3 of 10 break point opportunities.
Coco Gauff (pictured), the 2023 U.S. Open champion, will meet Iga Swiatek of Poland in the 2023 China Open semifinals. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
Gauff will test her unbeaten streak against Swiatek on Saturday in Beijing. The 2023 U.S. Open champion will appear in her seventh semifinal this year.
Gauff beat Swiatek in August in the 2023 Western & Southern Open semifinal in Cincinnati. She was 0-7 against the former world No. 1 entering that match.
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Iga Swiatek (pictured) of Poland beat Caroline Garcia of France in a quarterfinal match at the 2023 China Open on Friday in Beijing. File Photo by Larry Marano/UPI
No. 5 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan upset No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in another China Open quarterfinal Friday in Beijing. She will meet No. 22 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia in the other semifinal.
Samsonova beat No. 17 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the quarterfinals.
