"All five times, I did something wrong" - Coco Gauff believes she can finally defeat Iga Swiatek in their Dubai semifinal clash

American tennis phenom Coco Gauff admitted she "did something wrong" in each of her past five meetings against Iga Swiatek but noted that she believes she can beat the world No 1 in their Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semifinal.

Gauff, 18, and 21-year old Swiatek will be meeting for the sixth time when they meet in Dubai on Friday. Swiatek has dominated their head-to-head so far as the Pole has five wins and zero losses against the American through their first five meetings.

"All five times, I did something wrong! To be honest, she's playing great tennis and there's a reason she's World No.1," said Gauff in an interview with the WTA. "Tomorrow I have no pressure. I just have to play my game -- I definitely think I've gotten better since the last time I played her.

"Ranking is just a number at the end of the day. You just have to step on the court believing you can win, and that's what I'm going to do tomorrow,"

Over the last two weeks, Swiatek has been playing lights out. Last week, Swiatek won Doha with a total of five games lost. So far this week in Dubai, Swiatek has lost a total of three games.

Conversely, Gauff has also been playing well this week. After a first-round bye, she kicked off her Dubai campaign with a straight sets win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich. In the Dubai round-of-16, Gauff was scheduled to play Elena Rybakina but the reigning Wimbledon champion retired from the match due to a lower-back injury. On Wednesday, Gauff beat compatriot and former Top 10 player Madison Keys in straight sets to reach the Dubai semifinal.