Iga Swiatek Beats Coco Gauff at WTA Finals

Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek in action against US player Coco Gauff during the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, 01 November 2023.  EPA/ALONSO CUPUL
Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek in action against US player Coco Gauff during the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, 01 November 2023. EPA/ALONSO CUPUL
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Iga Swiatek Beats Coco Gauff at WTA Finals

Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek in action against US player Coco Gauff during the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, 01 November 2023.  EPA/ALONSO CUPUL
Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek in action against US player Coco Gauff during the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, 01 November 2023. EPA/ALONSO CUPUL

US Open champion Coco Gauff double-faulted four times in a row while serving for the second set and wound up losing 6-0, 7-5 to three-time major title winner Iga Swiatek in round-robin action at the WTA Finals in Mexico on a windy Wednesday night.

“A tough day in the office for me,” said Gauff, who also lost a doubles match Wednesday. “I mentally didn’t stay in it when I was serving for it.”

According to The Associated Press, she said the wind didn't help things, nor did a recent break of about two weeks without serving because of a shoulder injury.
“I have done well throughout the year, serving well,” the third-seeded Gauff said, “so I’m not going to let ... (a) bad two games define how I serve.”
There were plenty of empty seats at the temporary hard court — and Swiatek noticed.
“It's a shame that we don’t have a full stadium,” she said afterward.
“Hopefully for the future, there’s not going to be any more situation like that, and they’re going to work to improve that,” the second-seeded Swiatek said.
The WTA's decision to host the event in Cancun was not announced until September.



Ancelotti: Mission Accomplished as Real Madrid Reach Cup Final

Real Madrid's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti gestures on the touchline during the Spanish Copa del Rey (King's Cup) semi-final second leg football match between Real Madrid CF and Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on April 1, 2025. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP)
Real Madrid's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti gestures on the touchline during the Spanish Copa del Rey (King's Cup) semi-final second leg football match between Real Madrid CF and Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on April 1, 2025. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP)
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Ancelotti: Mission Accomplished as Real Madrid Reach Cup Final

Real Madrid's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti gestures on the touchline during the Spanish Copa del Rey (King's Cup) semi-final second leg football match between Real Madrid CF and Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on April 1, 2025. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP)
Real Madrid's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti gestures on the touchline during the Spanish Copa del Rey (King's Cup) semi-final second leg football match between Real Madrid CF and Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on April 1, 2025. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP)

It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players' effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.
"We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it," Ancelotti told a press conference.
"It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.
"I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side."
According to Reuters, Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it "bad luck" by the Austrian defender, but urged his defense to play with better focus moving forward.
"It's not good to concede four goals in a game," Ancelotti said.
"Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.
"However, we can't ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well."
Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.
Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday's second-leg in Madrid.