World no1 Iga Swiatek continued her domination of Coco Gauff to reach the final of the Dubai Open Championship.
The Pole earned a 6-4, 6-2 win to improve to 6-0 against the American teenager in their head-to-head clashes.
Their past experience served Swiatek well, as the three-time grand slam winner went for forehand exchanges from the very first point which forced Gauff into several unforced errors.
Swiatek did show nerves of her own.
First, she failed to close out the opening set on her serve before recovering in time to win it on her fifth attempt. In the second set, while leading 4-1, a pair of double faults cost her one of her breaks but she again recovered to serve out the match in 1 hour and 28 minutes.
The Dubai Open win over Coco Gauff takes Swiatek to her 9th WTA 1000 or above final.
She also improves her undefeated record in WTA 1000 semifinals to 6-0 and extends her active winning streak to six following her successful title defence last week in Doha.
Swiatek will now face the 2021 French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova to decide the winner.
Krejcikova, who eliminated the Australian Open champ Aryna Sabalenka in the previous round, beat No. 3 Jessica Pegula of the United States 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 in the other semifinal.
