'I feel more negative emotions right now,' Coco Gauff claims she would’ve defeated any other player besides Iga Swiatek in Italian Open semifinals

But overall, I would say from just this match, I feel more negative emotions right now. Like, looking at the whole tournament from where I started to now, I definitely feel like it's a major improvement. Against probably anybody else today, I would have won the match.  Coco Gauff said at the press conference 

Since winning the ASB Classics earlier this year, Gauff has been involved in a series of tough defeats. She arrived in Rome following her Stuttgart Open quarterfinal and Madrid Open fourth-round losses. 

Coco Gauff reveals what was the key to win against Iga Swiatek

Coco Gauff thinks she challenged Iga Swiatek with her game but accepted that it was the Pole who came in the clutch that decided the winner. Her plan was to be aggressive and, at the same time, she felt it would have been better for her had her first-serve percentage been higher. 

I wish my first-serve percentage was higher. I was winning a lot of first-serve points and I knew that would be key to winning today. I didn't get in as much as I would like to.  Coco Gauff said 

The World No.3 will now be preparing to try her luck at this year’s Roland Garros, where Swiatek is again the favorite, as she has already three Roland Garros titles in her trophy cabinet. After her win over Gauff in Rome, Swiatek will be facing Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka on May 18th in a rematch of the Madrid Open final. The World No.2 secured a berth in the final by eliminating America’s Danielle Collins. 

Like Gauff, Sabalenka’s matches against Swiatek ended in disappointments as the Pole won seven matches in their 10 meetings, with their last encounter being the Madrid Open final. If Swiatek wins the final in Rome and Paris, she will become the first player since Serena Williams (2013) to win consecutive titles.