American tennis phenom Coco Gauff continued her amazing French Open run with a dominating performance in the semi-finals. She defeated Italy’s Martina Trevisan 6-3, 6-1, and now heads to her first-ever Grand Slam final.
Per ESPN, the match started with an exchange of service breaks, with things staying close until Coco broke Trevisan’s serve to lead 4-3. After that, she won the first set, and the match was all academic from there. The recent high school grad cruised past the unseeded Italian taking the second set 6-1.
There was a small moment of tension between sets when Trevisan took a medical timeout to have the trainer work on her right thigh. However, Coco sat unbothered and enjoyed some pineapple while she waited to resume play.
Gauff will face her toughest challenge in the finals, as she faces off against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who won her semi-final match against Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-1 and is now on a 34 match winning streak.
Obviously, Swiatek is the favorite, but don’t count Coco out just yet. The American teenager hasn’t dropped a set and her game has gotten more confident with each win.
In an on-court interview after the match, Gauff told Tennis Channel’s Jon Wertheim that she’s “staying calm…being present and just enjoying it while it lasts.”
Showing maturity and poise beyond her years, Coco used her moment to send a message about gun violence, writing on the camera, “Peace. End gun violence. Love Coco.”
“For me it was important to use the platform that I have, especially since I’m in Europe…and it’s a problem that’s been going on years in the U.S. and I wanted to bring that attention,” she said. “I know how many people are watching that match, so maybe some global attention to what’s going on in the US. We definitely need some change and reform regarding that aspect. Ever since I was young, you guys know, I use my platform to bring attention to topics and today was one of those days.”
The French Open women’s final airs Saturday, June 4 at 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT on NBC.