A formal note first: The young player who we grew to love as Cori is now officially known as Coco. That's what the scoreboard in the Stade Roland Garros shows, and that's what it says on the WTA website. Our mistake that it slipped through us like that. The email in question must have ended up in spam. However, no precedent was set, we remember Thomas Haas, who very early (and officially in the USA) became Tommy. Or Stanislas Wawrinka, whose transformation into Stan only took place in the middle of his creative phase.

The scope for Iga Swiatek in this regard is extremely small. As far as one can observe from afar, the Pole agrees with her nickname.

And so to tennis.

So on Saturday Swiatek and Gauff will meet in the women's final at the French Open 2022. This is good news for tennis as a whole, because hardly any pairing would have generated more global attention than this one. On the one hand the dominator of the last few months, undefeated for 34 matches. On the other hand, the youngest player in the tableau, whose rapid rise seemed to have stalled a bit. And who is still only 18 years old. And thus the youngest finalist in a Grand Slam tournament since Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon in 2004.

Sharapova shocks Serena in the 2004 Wimbledon final

Outstanding footwork on both sides can be assumed, nobody moves more smoothly and with better anticipation than Iga Swiatek. Gauff is a little more athletic, the space coverage is also excellent for the teenager.

What you should not bet on: That a game like that between Holder Rune and Hugo Gaston develops, in which the opponents outdo each other with attempts to stop. Whoever was responsible for the basic training of Swiatek and Gauff: the little game apparently played no role in it. Gauff's dropshot offers to Martina Trevisan were invitations to the Italian to win a point, especially in the first set. Swiatek humorlessly sent Daria Kasatkina home from the baseline.

So will Iga Swiatek celebrate her second French Open title after 2020? It can be assumed. On the other hand: Even in the 2004 Wimbledon final, very few observers had expected Maria Sharapova to triumph over Serena Williams. And Coco Gauff has already succeeded once at the Bois de Boulogne: in 2018 she won the junior women's individual. Back then against her standard doubles partner, Cathy McNally.

Here is the individual tableau at the French Open

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