“I don’t have a mental coach or anything like that sports-related, but it is something that I knew I had to improve and just be more positive … and realising that I can’t beat myself and also my opponent beating me.
“She’s definitely a tough opponent for me and for anybody. I think for me I just have to go back and watch (previous matches) and try to find what I have to do.
“I think she’s playing great tennis here, so it’s going to be a challenge, but I’m going to go into the match with a lot of belief that I can.”
That belief is no doubt boosted by the fact she has done it before; Gauff overcame Swiatek in last year’s Cincinnati WTA 1000 semifinals, en route to winning what was then the biggest title of her career.
Dating back to the beginning of that fruitful North American summer, Gauff has won 54 of her past 66 matches – a success rate of almost 82 per cent.
“When I played her in Cincinnati, I didn’t go into the match thinking, ‘oh, I’ve never beaten her before, never taken a set off of her’,” Gauff said.
“Maybe I could lose with the same score, maybe not, but I’m just going to go in and just try to win.
“I have nothing to lose. All the pressure is on her.”