Coco Gauff is into her second Roland Garros final, having cut short Lois Boisson’s fairytale run.
The Frenchwoman’s run to the semi-final has been nothing short of sensational, beating seeds like Elise Mertens, Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva to reach this stage.
However, the world number two was not prepared to be another scalp for the 22-year-old, winning comprehensively with no remorse in front of an expectant Philippe Chatrier.
Tim Henman will be one of many who rush to praise the American, but the way she has bounced back from back-to-back defeats in the finals of Rome and Madrid is just a further testament to her character.
Tim Henman rates Coco Gauff’s French Open semi-final performance
Speaking live on TNT Sports immediately after Coco Gauff’s comprehensive French Open win, Henman sought to look back on how the 21-year-old has grown into her clay-court campaign.
He started by claiming: ‘I think the way that Coco Gauff dealt with the semi-finals against Boisson in front of the French crowd on Chatrier, it was such an impressive performance.
‘There have been question marks on Swiatek’s form, there has been endless question marks around the form of Coco Gauff and the second serve.
‘She made the final in Rome and the final in Madrid. For me that is always a great achievement when you are winning a lot of matches when you are not playing your best.
‘I just wonder whether today was the day where it clicked for Coco Gauff. She won 6-1, 6-2. She was so consistent. There were no let-ups in her game.
‘For her to move through to the final in that fashion is absolutely ideal.
Henman raved over Gauff after her win over Madison Keys, but her toughest challenge now awaits in the final.
Coco Gauff’s head-to-head record vs Aryna Sabalenka
Gauff and Sabalenka have a long history of some epic battles already despite the former’s youth, contesting some of the sport’s top honours.
In fact, one of those aforementioned losses in the final of a Masters 1000 event this year came against the Belarusian at the start of May.
However, before that, it was Gauff who came out on top in the semi-finals of the WTA end-of-year finals.
Such is their impressive and well-balanced rivalry, they are perfectly poised at five wins apiece.
But, it is the youngster who has the greatest of those victories when she beat Sabalenka in the final of the US Open to claim her maiden Grand Slam title.
We will have a repeat of that event in Paris on Saturday, and the whole tennis world will be watching.
