Peacefully, life goes on for the world No. 1. And the side effects, the figures and the history hardly seem to move him. On Thursday, Iga Swiatek qualified for the final of the WTA 1,000 in Rome, not without having to “maul” a bit against the world No. 3, Coco Gauff. Entering the battle with guts and ferocity, propelled by a first lead ball, often at more than 200 km/h on the first service games, the young American took up without blinking the challenge of the flat shot, the grip ball as soon as possible. In a Campo Centrale blithely deserted for this first women’s semi-final in the sun, the two ladies hit hard.
