Swiatek, Paolini set up Paris final showdown

PARIS :Iga Swiatek moved closer to a third successive French Open title by cruising past American third seed Coco Gauff on Thursday and she will play Jasmine Paolini in the final after the Italian downed Mirra Andreeva.

Four-times Grand Slam champion Swiatek's 6-2 6-4 semi-final win was her 11th victory in 12 meetings with Gauff, but the 23-year-old Pole had to endure tough moments in the second set before matching her longest winning streak on clay.

"I was pretty intense and putting pressure on Coco," Swiatek told reporters. "Most of the things overall in my game worked today, so I'm proud of myself."

Paolini joined her in the final by defeating Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva 6-3 6-1 to continue Italy's golden Roland Garros, with Jannik Sinner also through to the men's semi-finals.

Gauff will rise to number two in the rankings behind Swiatek but the loss to the Pole, who also beat her in the 2022 final and last year's quarters, was a bitter pill to swallow for the 20-year-old.

"I think she's progressing a lot," Swiatek said of the U.S. Open champion.

"Last year's U.S. Open showed she's tough. At this age, it's obvious she's going to just grow. It's nice to see her handling everything well around her, because it's not easy.

"I'm sure we'll have plenty more intense matches at the highest level."

EARLY BREAK

Swiatek broke in the opening game after a forehand error by the ultra aggressive Gauff and she fought off break points in her next two service games before tightening her grip.

Having dropped the first set, Gauff wiped away tears while leading 2-1 in the second after an argument with the umpire over a line decision, but the American recovered to break her opponent for the first time.

"I think it was just overwhelming," Gauff