She continued her hot streak against Gauff with a 6-2 6-4 win in the final four, but the result was not without drama.
Swiatek hit only 10 winners in an unspectacular display by her high standards, but US Open champion Gauff made 39 unforced errors and was left holding back tears in the second set.
The youngster had moved 2-1 ahead on serve when she became embroiled in a heated exchange with chair umpire Aurélie Tourte over the timing of a line call, exclaiming “it’s a Grand Slam semi-final, know the rules of the game”.
The incident occurred when the chair umpire overruled an “out” call made on a Swiatek serve. Gauff was unable to return the serve and the point was awarded to Swiatek. Gauff argued with the chair umpire that Swiatek should have been forced to replay her serve because Gauff’s return had been impacted by the late overrule.
This was the exchange, according to The New York Post.
“I didn’t even finish my follow through. He called it before I hit it. Can you ask him?”
“We cannot ask him.”
“They’re booing because you’re wrong… I have the right to finish my swing.”
“To me it didn’t affect the shot.”
“This is the second time this has happened. It’s a grand slam semifinal. Know the rules of the game.”
An emotional Gauff appeared to be tearing up after returning to the baseline, but was able to recover and break Swiatek for a 3-1 lead in the set.
Swiatek remained quiet throughout the exchange and some tennis commentators have criticised her for failing to speak up on Gauff’s behalf.
One tennis fan posted: “Iga Swiatek. Not a single bone of sportswomanship in her body. Yikes”.
Gauff said in her post-match press conference the sport should have improved video replay technology to make sure incidents like that one don’t happen.
“I definitely think at this point it’s almost ridiculous that we don’t have it,” Gauff said.
That perceived injustice helped the American briefly raise her game, snatching her first break of the match after a long rally to lead 3-1, only to be pegged back immediately.
There was only going to be one outcome from then on as Swiatek reeled off four games in a row to take complete control.
Gauff, who will rise to world number two next week, has now lost 11 of her 12 matches against Swiatek, all in straight sets.
The world number one is just one match away from becoming the first woman to win the tournament in three straight years since Justine Henin in 2007 after a 6-2, 6-4 victory.
“Something changed, I just adjusted better to the court and it’s not easy to play the first matches at a Grand Slam because the atmosphere is much different to other tournaments,” she added.
“And against Noami it was difficult to get into it because she just went for it... I’ve improved my feel and gained confidence.”
The Pole’s career win-loss record at Roland Garros now stands at a staggering 34-2, drawing comparisons with Rafael Nadal, a 14-time champ at the tournament.
“We’ll see in 14 years if the journey is similar. That’s obviously really nice for me,” said Swiatek.
“I would never expect anybody to compare me to Rafa because for me he’s above everybody, and he’s a total legend.
