Swiatek Reaches Fourth Roland Garros Final, Djokovic Undergoes Knee Surgery

Iga Swiatek, the world's top-ranked female tennis player, has advanced to her fourth Roland Garros final in five years, defeating Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4 in the semi-finals. Swiatek, who has won 20 consecutive matches in Paris, will face either 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva or Italy's Jasmine Paolini in the championship match.

Swiatek, who has won 10 of her previous 11 meetings with Gauff in straight sets, broke the US Open champion in the opening game of the match and never looked back. She withstood break points in her first two service games before breaking again to move up a double break at 4-1. Swiatek closed out the first set without trouble.

Gauff threatened a fightback in the second set, taking a 3-1 lead after wiping away tears following an argument with the chair umpire over the timing of a line call. However, Swiatek responded immediately, winning four consecutive games to surge to the cusp of victory. Gauff saved two match points, but Swiatek eventually served it out at the fourth time of asking.

"It was intense," said Swiatek. "In the second set it was tight because we were breaking each other. I was consistent with my tactics, didn't overthink stuff and just went for it in the end."

Swiatek improved to 34-2 at the French Open after beating Gauff at Roland Garros for the third tournament in a row. She has won all four of her previous Grand Slam finals and could become only the fourth woman to win four Roland Garros titles in the Open era -- after Justine Henin, Chris Evert and Steffi Graf.

Swiatek is also on track to join Serena Williams as the only women to complete the treble of French, Madrid and Rome Open titles in the same year.

In the other semi-final, Andreeva, the youngest Grand Slam semi-finalist since Martina Hingis in 1997, will take on the unheralded Paolini. Andreeva stole the headlines in the quarter-finals with a shock victory over world number two Aryna Sabalenka, who was hit by a stomach bug, becoming the youngest woman to reach a Slam semi-final since Hingis at the US Open 27 years ago.

Paolini, the 12th seed, also got through with a surprise win against former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. Both Andreeva and Paolini had never reached the quarters at a major tournament before this week, but are now just one match from the final.

With another win, Andreeva will also be the youngest Slam finalist since Hingis, who won the 1997 US Open aged 16.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has confirmed that he has undergone an operation on his right knee, which he injured during his last-16 win at Roland Garros. The 24-time Grand Slam winner was forced to withdraw ahead of his quarter-final against Casper Ruud after a scan revealed a torn medial meniscus in his right knee.

"In the past day, I had to make some tough decisions after sustaining a meniscus tear during my last match," Djokovic posted on social media. "I'm still processing it all but I am happy to update you that the surgery went well."

Djokovic made no mention of whether he would be fit to take part at Wimbledon, which begins on July 1, but added that he was going to "do my best to be healthy and fit to return to the court as soon as possible."

Tags: #FrenchOpen, #IgaSwiatek, #CocoGauff, #MirraAndreeva, #JasminePaolini