Coco Gauff vs Iga Swiatek Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA China Open

Prediction published on 06/10/2023, 08:41  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 06/10/2023 at 09:41 in Tennis Predictions

Third seeded Coco Gauff takes on the second seed Iga Swiatek in the China Open semi-final. The possible opponents in the final are Liudmila Samsonova or Elena Rybakina. Coco Gauff is third in the world rankings but a long way behind in terms of points on Sabalenka and Swiatek. This is her first tournament since winning the US Open, where both of the top two were beaten. That maiden Grand Slam title was her fourth tournament victory of the year. All of them have been won on hard courts which is the surface for this China Open. Her good form has continued with only one set dropped in her four matches. That was the second set of her round two match against Petra Martic. The 19-year-old has since then beaten 16th seeded Veronika Kudermetova and in the quarter final, sixth seed Maria Sakkari. Gauff had lost seven matches to Swiatek before finally beating her in the recent Cincinnati tournament that the American went on to win. 

Iga Swiatek is down at second in the rankings, losing top spot to Aryna Sabalenka during the US Open. The Pole has won four singles titles in 2023 but has not been anywhere near as dominant as last year. That's illustrated by the fact she has been beaten 11 times in singles tournaments this year. Her last win was in Warsaw but no top 50 players were beaten on the way to winning that title in her homeland. Before this tournament, Swiatek had failed to reach the final of any of her last four events. In Beijing, the world number two only dropped 14 games in her first three matches. Then she took on ninth seeded Caroline Garcia and lost the first set on a tie-break. Another tie-break was won by Swiatek in the second set and in the decider only one game was dropped. This will be a close match but Gauff is our tip to reach the final.