"In this case, knock me down 7 times, get up 8" - Coco Gauff quotes Cardi B after taking down Iga Swiatek at Cincinnati Open

Coco Gauff defeated Iga Swiatek in the semifinal of the 2023 Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati on August 19, getting the better of the World No. 1 on her eighth attempt.

Gauff took the early lead in the contest via a tiebreaker 7-6 (2), winning her first-ever set against Swiatek after losing 14 in a row. However, the Pole showed her mettle in the next set, breaking Gauff's serve twice to win the second set 6-3. The young American recollected herself in the third set to break the Swiatek serve on 3-3 and held her own to win the match, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4.

Gauff was over the moon after securing the biggest win of her career. In her post-match on-court remarks, the 19-year-old revealed that a hit track by American pop star Cardi B inspired her to overcome the odds and win against an opponent she had never beaten before. Gauff quoted Cardi's 'Get Up 10' song, saying it gave her the motivation.

“I saw a quote. ‘Knock me down 9 times, get up 10.’ It’s a Cardi B song. So in this case, knock me down 7 times, get up 8,” Gauff said.

Iga Swiatek had defeated Coco Gauff 7 times in a row, winning 14 straight sets before their match-up at the Cincinnati Open. Swiatek's triumphant run against Gauff began at the 2021 Italian Open and stretched all the way till the 2023 French Open.

Coco Gauff to face either Aryna Sabalenka or Karolina Muchova in Cincinnati Open final

Coco Gauff

With the win over Swiatek, Coco Gauff has now entered her first-ever final in a WTA 1000-level tournament. She will be up against either World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka or Karolina Muchova in the title contest on August 21. Gauff is seeded No. 7 in Cincinnati.

The 19-year-old has played Sabalenka five times on the WTA Tour. Their first meeting came at the 2020 Top Seed Open in Lexington, where Gauff eeked out a victory against the Belarusian. Gauff has a 3-2 head-2-head advantage over Sabalenka. She is yet to face Muchova on the WTA Tour.

The World No. 7 is amidst the best run of her young career. She recently lifted her 4th career title at the WTA 500 Citi Open on August 7. She then backed up that performance with a quarterfinals run at the Canadian Open in Montreal (losing to eventual champion Jessica Pegula) and has now entered the final of the Cincinnati Open, defeating Mayar Sherif, Linda Noskova, Jasmine Paolini, and Iga Swiatek along the way.