Iga Swiatek, the current world No. 1, of Poland overcame American star Coco Gauff with a commanding 6-0, 6-3 victory to go to the quarterfinals of the San Diego Open, extending her perfect record against the No. 8 player from the US to four matches.

In the semifinal, world No. 6 Jessica Pegula, an American, will compete against Swiatek, who is in her third straight semifinal. In the first match between two of the top three-ranked Americans on the Tour, Pegula defeated Madison Keys 6-4, 7-5 to secure her place in the last four.

On Friday night, the offensive disparity between Swiatek’s two quarterfinal opponents was the greatest because that is where he has made the most progress this year.

Before the American youngster held service to 2-1 in the second set, Swiatek won the first eight games. Swiatek, though, won 13 games to nine losses while breaking Gauff five times to complete the match in 65 minutes.

Gauff had 26 unforced errors compared to 17 winners, and she failed to take advantage of the three break-point opportunities she was given.

Dealt a tough draw here, Swiatek handled Tokyo finalist Zheng Qinwen in three sets in her opening match and followed it up with a clinical performance to beat Gauff. In every tournament at which she has played Gauff, Swiatek has gone on to win the title, having beaten the American at 2021 Rome, 2022 Miami, and 2022 Roland Garros, according to wtatennis.com.

The victory is Swiatek’s 62nd of the season and 40th on hard court. Having won Indian Wells, Miami, and the US Open, the 21-year-old is now 22-1 in the United States this season. The first set against Gauff was her 20th 6-0 “bagel” set of the season, the most since Serena Williams posted 25 in her 2013 season, according to the website.

“I’ve played (Swiatek) so often that I kind of know what to expect,” Pegula said of her semifinal opponent. “She plays super athletic, aggressive, defends really well. She does everything at a really high level. She plays a little bit different than the girls and sometimes that can be the difference. You’re not used to playing someone like her.

“I’d like to say maybe it’s better playing her at the end of the year, but I don’t know. We’ll see how the match goes.”

Swiatek and Pegula will clash for the fourth time this season. Swiatek has swept their sets, winning in the Miami semifinals, Roland Garros quarterfinals, and US Open quarterfinals last month.

“Jessie is one of the most solid players on tour so it’s always hard,” Swiatek said. “Our matches are always physical and really tight. Even though sometimes the scores are one way, you can see during the games we always have deuces and any point can matter. I’m pretty happy that we’re going to play against each other because it’s a test for me of where my level is because she’s really, really solid.”

(inputs from IANS)