In her short time as a professional tennis player, even as her career flourished and she established herself as one of the best in the world, Coco Gauff’s great progress was often overshadowed by the problem she just could not solve. By last June, Gauff had lost 11 of 12 matches against Iga Swiatek, an opponent she is likely to play for many more years.
What was once a painfully one-sided non-rivalry may have turned into one of the best match-ups in professional tennis. On Sunday evening at the United Cup in Sydney, Gauff registered her second consecutive win over Swiatek, toppling the five-time grand slam champion 6-4, 6-4 after two hours of sublime tennis from both players.
