The World No. 1 Iga Swiatek qualified for the French Open semi-finals on Wednesday by eliminating American Jessica Pegula (11th) in two sets.
Swiatek, who turned 21 on Tuesday, won, without too much pressure, 6-3 and 6-2 at 1h 29.
This is the Polish player’s 33rd consecutive win. Only the Williams siblings (Venus 35, Serena 34) have done better in the 21st century. He was previously tied to Belgian Justine Henin.
For the second consecutive game, Pole struggled to find his rhythm, but he was able to raise the game at the right time against Pegula, rugged at the start of the game, despite many unintentional mistakes (28 for 30 winning shots) .
It’s warmer now, Swiatek says, and the ball is moving a bit faster. And I had to adjust there.
Swiatek, the last representative of the top 10 in the land of Paris, is the favorite. But let’s not forget that he was jostled in the previous round by young Chinese Qinwen Zheng (74th), who took the round from him. Swiatek’s first defeat since April 23.
Pole has won all five previous tournaments he has participated in (Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart and Rome).
In the next round, Iga Swiatek will face Russian Daria Kastakina, 20th in the world ranking.
Kasatkina truly qualified for her first semi-final in a grand slam tournament when she defeated her compatriot Veronika Kudermetova in two sets of 6-4 and 7-6 (7/5).
The 25-year-old Russian still hasn’t missed a round in the Paris tournament. He is the least loser so far.
Tomorrow another mountain will be climbed. Maybe it’s better that, after all, I don’t have too much time in front of me to not think too muchsaid Kasatkina.
How many times have we played, Iga and I. I lost those battles, but differently, it was hard at the beginning of the year. I want to win, I have a rage to win, too, she said. So this is going to be a good game..
Formerly a junior tournament winner in 2014, Kasatkina has already reached the quarter-finals twice in a grand slam, especially in 2018 at Roland-Garros.
That year, he reached his highest rank, 10th. He had then experienced the call to himself black season which prompted him to quit his career, at the age of only 21.
Over the past year, it has gradually come back to the fore. From No. 72 at the start of 2021, he is currently ranked 20th in the world.
Kasatkina had a strong start to the season with 22 wins and advanced to the Italian Open semi-finals in Rome.
In the mixed doubles tournament, Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski, partnered with Australian John Peers, lost in the semi-finals, 3-6 and 4-6, in 68 minutes.
Source: Radio-Canada
