Iga Swiatek Archives

World number one Swiatek into first US Open semi-final

NEW YORK: World number one Iga Swiatek reached her first US Open semi-final on Wednesday with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) win over Jessica Pegula of the United States.

The French Open champion will face Aryna Sabalenka for a place in Saturday’s final after making the last-four of a Slam for the third time in 2022.

“That will be a very tough match. There will be some fast serves and heavy hitting, just like tonight,” said Swiatek

In a mistake-filled quarter-final on Wednesday, there were 13 breaks of serve and a combined 61 unforced errors.

“It means a lot to be in the semi-finals for the first time,” said Swiatek.

“I am very happy as I have worked very hard but have kept my expectations low.

“It was a really tight match. I tried to push her back but she was putting pressure on me so that’s what it went to a tiebreak.”

Swiatek overcame giving up the first break of the match in the fifth game to reel off 16 of the next 18 points to claim the opening set in 38 minutes.

The 21-year-old Pole and American eighth seed exchanged three service breaks apiece in the first eight games in an untidy second set.

It was the French Open champion who carved out the seventh break on a net cord to give herself the opportunity to serve for the match.

Eighth-ranked Pegula roused herself to stay alive in the contest before a double fault on break point in the 11th game handed Swiatek a second opportunity to seal a spot in the semi-finals.

The top seed failed again as Pegula sealed the 10th break to send the set into a tiebreak which the Pole dominated to clinch a third win over the American this year.

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Swiatek ambushed by Brazil’s Haddad Maia in Toronto

TORONTO: Brazilian outsider Beatriz Haddad Maia toppled world number one Iga Swiatek 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA Toronto Masters.

The South American ranked 24th in the world beat her third top-10 opponent this season, but notched her first career win over a world number one as she clawed out the victory in three hours.

Haddad Maia, who won titles at Nottingham and Birmingham in June, became the first Brazilian to reach the quarters at a WTA 1000 tournament.

She was the first from her country to face a number one since Telian Pereira lost to Serena Williams at Roland Garros in 2016.

Swiatek, whose six titles this season include the French Open, missed her chance at a 50th match win this year in the setback that comes two weeks before the start of the US Open.

Her run of 23 straight wins at the Masters 1000 level was snapped in difficult playing conditions.

“At the beginning I struggled to find my rhythm, probably because she’s lefty and I had a hard time adjusting to her serve,” Swiatek said.

“Without the wind I would manage. But it was pretty crazy out there.

“In the third set I knew (the mistakes) I’d made. So I know what I want to work on and what I want to improve before the next tournament, for sure.”

Haddad Maia put Swiatek on the defensive, forcing her to save 15 of 19 break points while committing nine double-faults.

She limited her own unforced errors to a dozen, backed up by 23 winners while Swiatek ended with 33 winners and 28 unforced errors.

“I’m happy and proud of myself and my team, it’s a special moment,” she said. “It’s not always easy to beat the number one on a huge stage and against all the crowd.

“I think I passed through very tough moments in my career to live this moment. I just want to enjoy a little bit.

“I don’t want to think about my next match,” added Haddad Maia, who will play Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic for a place in the semi-finals

Bencic followed up her victory over 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams with a brisk 6-1, 6-3 victory over Spain’s Garbine Muguruza.

In other third-round action, Coco Gauff survived 15 double-faults to squeeze out a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) win over Aryna Sabalenka.

The American teenager contributed just under half of the miscues in the error-strewn affair, with her opponent accounting for 18 additional doubles.

Tenth seed Gauff, who fell to Swiatek at Roland Garros in her first Grand Slam final this year, battled for three and a quarter hours against sixth-seeded Sabalenka.

Gauff finished with nine aces and saved 10 of 14 break points that she faced.

“The conditions weren’t easy today, a lot of wind,” Gauff said. “I think I hung in there mentally and that’s what I’m most proud of.”

Victory for the 18-year-old came a day after she beat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the third round in a match that took two and three-quarter hours.

The American admitted that trailing 3-0 in the final set, she had to give herself a serious talking-to.

“I said if I was going to lose, I’m not going to lose like this. I had to change, and that’s what I did.”

Gauff will face off on Friday against two-time Grand Slam winner Simona Halep after the former number one from Romania defeated Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann 6-2, 7-5 in 91 minutes.

Seventh-seeded American Jessica Pegula advanced, beating defending champion Camila Giorgi of Italy 3-6, 6-0, 7-5.

Pegula will face Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva, who beat Alison Riske 6-3, 7-5.

China’s Zheng Qinwen ended the hopes of home favorite Bianca Andreescu with a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 victory over the former US Open champion from Canada. Zheng will next face Karolina Pliskova, who ousted third-seeded Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-7 (9/11), 6-3.

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Swiatek upset by Garcia in Warsaw quarter-finals

WARSAW: World number one Iga Swiatek suffered a quarter-final exit at her home tournament, the Poland Open, after losing in three sets Friday to France’s Caroline Garcia.

French Open champion Swiatek had not lost on clay in over a year before going down 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 to the 45th-ranked Garcia.

Swiatek was 18-0 on clay this season, winning titles at Stuttgart, Rome and Roland Garros, and had only dropped two sets on the surface in 2022.

“It was a very important match and I tried to be ready for it,” said Garcia.

“I started very strong, putting a lot of pressure on her. As soon as I got a bit lower-intensity, she came back very strong, and that’s what is happening against a top player.

“I stayed positive, I kept believing in my game and the way I wanted to play, and the third set was definitely very good tennis.”

Garcia will play Italy’s Jasmine Paolini for a place in the Warsaw final. Paolini recovered from a poor start to defeat Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindl faces Ana Bogdan of Romania in the other semi-final.

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Swiatek powers past Lee into Warsaw quarter-finals

WARSAW: Iga Swiatek’s victorious homecoming continued with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat of lucky loser Gabriela Lee to reach the Poland Open quarter-finals on Thursday.

The world number one defeated her 146th-ranked Romanian opponent to extend her clay run to 18 wins, putting her overall record for 2022 at 48-4.

French Open champion Swiatek has not lost a match on clay since the 2021 Roland Garros quarter-finals.

Swiatek broke in the seventh game for 4-3, taking advantage of a double fault from Lee with the Romanian failing to make the most of her break point chance when trailing 4-1 in the second set.

Swiatek hit 25 winners to three for her rival and will next face fifth seed, Caroline Garcia, for a place in the semi-finals.

The Frenchwoman defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3, 7-5 have also eliminated the Italian in Palermo last week.

Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindl advanced after Italy’s Sara Errani retired trailing 6-2, 3-0 with a back problem and will meet Brazil’s Laura Pigossi.

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Iga Swiatek into Wimbledon second round with 36th successive win

LONDON: World number one Iga Swiatek racked up her 36th successive victory to reach the Wimbledon second round on Tuesday, equalling the winning streak of Monica Seles in 1990.

French Open champion Swiatek defeated Croatian qualifier Jana Fett 6-0, 6-3 to remain undefeated since February.

The 21-year-old Pole will face Dutch lucky loser Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove for a place in the last 32.

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Iga Swiatek dominates Coco Gauff to lift the French Open title

PARIS: World No.1 Iga Swiatek carried on her unbeaten run and defeated her American counterpart Coco Gauff to lift her second French Open title, here on Sunday.

The Polish star completely dominated her opponent in the final as she clinched the victory by 6-1 and 6-3.

The World No.1 Swiatek’s ruthless efficiency did not allow Gauff to settle in the game as she kept pushing her back with her heavy striking and wide-angle shots before claiming the victory in a mere 68 minutes.

Gauff made a number of unforced errors as her forehand continued to let her down and allowed Swiatek to pull ahead and take a 4-0 lead in the first set.

The 18-years-old, however, got the scoreboard moving as she drilled one down to claim her first game. Her comeback did little to none to rattle Swiatek, who appeared firm before closing the set in 32 minutes after securing two more games.

Swiatek, then continued her sublime form in the second set as she again outclassed Gauff to claim the title victory.

With her French Open triumph, Swiatek has now levelled Venus Williams’ 21st-century record of 35 straight wins, set in the 2000s.

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Swiatek breezes past Kasatkina, storms into the French Open final

PARIS: The top seed Iga Swiatek carried on her unbeaten run as she defeated her Russian counterpart Daria Kasatkina in just 64 minutes to reach her second French Open final, here on Thursday.

Swiatek, who is in sublime form has equalled Serena William’s record of second-most consecutive wins this century, who won 34 consecutive matches between Miami and Wimbledon in 2013.

In the semi-final, Swiatek breathed fire as she complete dominated her opponent throughout the match as she defeated Kasatkina by 6-2, 6-1.

The one-sided affair embarked with an evenly poised four games as Swiatek pulled ahead taking her fourth break point to move up 2-0, but Kasatkina responded quickly as she dodged the former with smart wrong-footing to level at 2-2.

The Polish then again pulled ahead and never looked back as she went on to claim the first set after completely dominating the next four games.

Swiatek, fuelled with momentum, kick-started the second set with the same pace as she moved 1-0 up by claiming the first game.

Kasatkina, on the other hand, made a timely comeback to level the scores at 1-1 only for Swiatek to further level her ante up and claim the victory by winning five consecutive games.

The 21-years-old Swiatek will now take on the United States of America (USA)’s Coco Gauff in the final of the French Open.

The victory over Gauff in the final would bolster Swiatek to equal Venus Williams’ 21st-century record of 35 straight wins, set in 2000.

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Top-ranked Tennis player Iga Swiatek withdraws from Madrid Open

WARSAW: The top-ranked Women’s tennis player Iga Swiatek has opted to withdraw from the upcoming Madrid Open, saying her body ‘needs rest’ after a frenetic schedule.

The 20-years-old Polish Tennis player Swiatek, who became the top-ranked player following the retirement of Ashleigh Barty earlier this month, has decided to withdraw from Madrid Open.

Swiatek was enjoying a delightful run as the top-ranked tennis star won the last four tournaments she played but her restless schedule forced her to withdraw.

Taking to Twitter, Swiatek announced her withdrawal from her first WTA 1000 event of the clay season.

“After intense last weeks and winning 4 titles in a row it’s time to take care of my arm that has been fatigued since the Miami Open and I haven’t had a chance to handle it properly,” she wrote.

“I need a break from playing so intensively in order to treat my arm well and that’s why, unfortunately, I have to withdraw from the Madrid Open. My body needs rest.”

🎾Unfortunately my team and I decided that I need to withdraw from Madrid. I hope to see you next year.
🎾Razem z moim teamem zdecydowaliśmy, że niestety wycofam się z turnieju w Madrycie. pic.twitter.com/SQ4lJUwhPd

— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) April 27, 2022

It’s worth noting that Swiatek has already pulled out of a tournament due to exhaustion — the Charleston event in early April. She, on the other hand, is looking forward to competing in the forthcoming Rome event, which begins on May 9, as well as the 2020 French Open, which she won.

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Iga Swiatek beats Naomi Osaka to win Miami Open

MIAMI: Iga Swiatek’s dream season continued as the incoming world number one scooped her third successive WTA 1000 title to beat Naomi Osaka in the Miami Open final on Saturday.

The Polish 20-year-old became only the fourth – and youngest – player to win the “Sunshine Double” of Indian Wells and Miami in the same year following Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Osaka.

Swiatek, who will be formally confirmed as world number one when the new WTA rankings are announced on Monday, has now won 17 straight games, a winning streak that includes titles in Doha, Indian Wells and now Miami.

Osaka, 24, enjoyed a welcome return to form in Florida even if the four-time Grand Slam champion’s first final since the Australian Open in 2021 ended in a comprehensive defeat.

Swiatek headed into a seventh career final on the back of 16 straight wins — the last player to win 16 or more in a row was Osaka, between Cincinnati in 2020 and last year’s Miami Open.

Osaka has been serving well this tournament but was broken by Swiatek to make it 3-2 in the first and began to look vulnerable.

The former French Open champion is one of the finest returners in the women’s game and even though Osaka was attempting to aggressively jump upon Swiatek’s second serve, her opponent was far more consistent and clinical overall.

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Iga Swiatek beats Maria Sakkari to win Indian Wells WTA title

LONDON: Former French Open champion Iga Swiatek beat Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-1 on Sunday to win the WTA Indian Wells title and move to a career-high ranking of number two in the world.

Swiatek’s fifth career title was her second in as many tournaments after her triumph in Doha last month and pushed her WTA match win-streak to 11.

It also ensured the 20-year-old from Poland, who shot to prominence with her victory at Roland Garros in 2020, will climb two spots to supplant Barbora Krejcikova at number two in the rankings behind Australian Ashleigh Barty on Monday.

“I’m really overwhelmed and honestly my mind is blown,” Swiatek said, explaining that coming into the tournament she didn’t think it was “realistic” to think she could maintain the level that saw her win Doha for a second straight tournament.

“I wouldn’t think of myself as someone who’s ready to play two tournaments in a row and win it,” she said.

However, now that she’s followed Agnieszka Radwanska as the only Polish player to reach number two in the world, she’s aiming even higher.

“I feel like getting the number one is closer and closer,” she said.

Greece’s Sakkari, who came into the tournament ranked sixth in the world and also had a chance to get to number two with a victory, will rise to a career-high third.

Both players struggled to find a rhythm on another breezy day in the California desert, where their first set featured six breaks of serve in what Swiatek called “crazy” conditions.

“For sure you could see that we are, in the beginning, a little bit stressed, and the wind is also not helping,” Swiatek said.

“But I’m pretty glad that I played better and better every game, and I managed to somehow find a little bit of balance even in these conditions.

“It was pretty hard to actually play the tactics that I wanted because of the conditions. But I wanted just to stay consistent and really solid because that’s the most important thing when the ball is going, you know, in weird directions.”

Trailing 5-4 in the first, Sakkari led 40-30 but sent two backhands into the net to give Swiatek a set point, which the Greek saved with a forehand winner.

Sakkari came up with a service winner to save another set point, then double-faulted to give Swiatek a third chance, the Pole taking the set when Sakkari stroked a backhand into the net.

With a set in hand, Swiatek dominated in the second. Although she couldn’t convert two break points in the second game as Sakkari made it 1-1, Swiatek roared through the next six games to close it out in 80 minutes and remain unbeaten in five career WTA finals.

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