Brad Gilbert was left in awe of Coco Gauff's performance against Iga Swiatek as the American's former coach thought the 21-year-old "hammered" the defending Madrid champion.
Going into their Madrid semifinal match, the American had been 0-5 against the Polish clay-court specialist. But she confidently told reporters she was optimistic she was ready to make her big breakthrough.
And as soon as the match started, Gauff got straight to work as she was all over Swiatek and won 10 games in a row to open a 6-1 5-0 lead. At the last moment, the world No. 2 managed to serve out the sixth game of the second set and avoided being bageled. However, even without a bagel, the 21-year-old American registered a breathtaking one-hour and four-minute win.
Gilbert, who guided Gauff to her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open before they split in late 2024, watched the match and he had something to see.
"Mighty impressive effort from Coco, absolutely hammers Iga Pop for her 1st win on clay and 3rd straight win overall," Gilbert wrote on X.
mighty impressive effort from Coco, absolutely hammers 🔨 Iga Pop for her 1st win on clay 🧱 and 3rd straight win overall
— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) May 1, 2025
What Gauff said after beating Swiatek?
After the match, the world No. 4 was the first to acknowledge that her rival didn't have her best day at the office. However, she also noted that she had a clear game plan and knew what she wanted to do.
"Obviously she wasn't maybe playing her best tennis, but I think I made her uncomfortable. She is very talented and can make you run and move you around the court. And I just tried to not do that today," Gauff noted.
Gauff now meets Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid final.
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