San Diego Open 2022: Iga Swiatek vs Coco Gauff preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Iga Swiatek vs (6) Coco Gauff.
Date: October 14, 2022.
Tournament: San Diego Open 2022.
Round: Quarterfinal.
Venue: Barnes Tennis Center, San Diego, California, United States.
Category: WTA 500.
Surface: Hardcourt.
Prize money: $757,900.
Match timing: Not before 5:30 pm local time, 12:30 am GMT, 8:30 pm ET, 6 am IST.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK – Amazon Prime Video.
Iga Swiatek vs Coco Gauff preview
Three-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek will face off against World No. 8 Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals of the 2022 San Diego Open on Friday.
After an opening-round bye, Swiatek kicked off her campaign against Qinwen Zheng in the second round. The Chinese held a break point at 4-3 in the first set, but failed to convert it. This proved to be costly as the World No. 1 broke her serve in the very next game, following which she claimed the set by serving it out.
Both players remained quite solid on serve until 4-4 in the second set. Swiatek held five break points in the ninth game, but Zheng somehow managed to eke out a service hold to make it 5-4. She then managed to break her opponent's serve in the following game to grab the set.
Swiatek regrouped rather quickly. After a hold of serve by Zheng to start the third set, she bagged the next six games to win the match 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. This is her tour-leading 12th quarterfinal of the year.
A first-round win over fellow teenager Robin Montgomery sent Gauff into the second round, where 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu awaited her. The Canadian snagged an early break to lead 2-0 but squandered her advantage soon enough.
Gauff managed to level the score and cliched the first set by breaking Andreescu's serve towards the end. The second set played out similarly for a while. The Canadian went up a break before the teenager managed to get back on serve.
Andreescu then won the last three games of the set to force a decider. She continued the momentum in the final set as well, jumping to a 3-1 lead. Gauff, however, staged a comeback by claiming the next five games in a row to win the match 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
This is Gauff's eighth quarterfinal of the season, but she has lost her last three encounters at this stage.
Iga Swiatek vs Coco Gauff head-to-head
Swiatek leads Gauff 3-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the 2022 French Open in straight sets.
Iga Swiatek vs Coco Gauff odds
(All odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Iga Swiatek vs Coco Gauff prediction
Gauff was a break down in all three sets against Andreescu, but displayed great tenacity to outlast her in the second round. Swiatek also overcame a second-set stumble in the previous round against Zheng.
While Gauff eventually managed to get over the line, her overall level wasn't all that impressive. However, managing to win even when your game isn't working is a good quality to have. The teenager's court coverage was brilliant as usual, which helped her to keep the points going long enough to extract errors from her opponent.
Swiatek's forehand was on fire in the second round and she ended the match with a total of 29 winners. This could spell trouble for Gauff, whose forehand doesn't hold up that well. The teenager is yet to win a set in this match-up. Given how they played in the previous round, it looks like the World No. 1 will score yet another win over the American.
Pick: Iga Swiatek to win in straight sets.