Iga Swiatek is through to the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for only the third time in her career after defeating Jessica Pegula in straight sets at the French Open.
The world No.1 was far from her best but still managed to ease to a 6-3, 6-2, win on Court Philippe Chatrier. Swiatek’s latest victory is her 33rd in a row which is the third longest streak on the WTA Tour this century after both of the Williams sisters. Overall, she has already won 40 matches in 2022 which is a staggering 15 more than any other female player (Ons Jabeur is second with 25 wins).
“I think being low on my legs was the key (to the win) which was sometimes really hard because she was changing the rhythm,” Swiatek said during her on-court interview. “I’m pretty happy that I was playing good with the dynamics and able to push her back a little bit.”
“Today was warmer so I felt the ball fly a little bit faster. I had to adjust to that, especially with her (Pegula’s) serving.” She added.
Against Pegula, who was playing in her third major quarter-final at the age of 28, Swiatek sealed her latest victory with the help of 30 winners and won 67% of her service points. The triumph was far from a perfect performance from the Pole who appeared tentative at times and produced a total of 28 unforced errors. However, she utilized her brick-wall defensive skills to wear down her rival who produced glimpses of her best tennis at times.
Swiatek was tested early on by her American rival who had won 11 out of 14 matches on clay coming into the quarter-finals. Initially Pegula didn’t appear intimidated by the top seed who she lost to in straight sets at the Miami Open earlier this year as she matched her intensity shot-by-shot from the baseline.
After trading breaks at the start of their match, Swiatek overcame some uncharacteristic unforced errors by winning eight out of nine points midway through the opener to seal a second break and move ahead 4-3. Despite some impressive shots coming from across the court, she continued to maintain the upper hand. Much to the annoyance of Pegula who became visibly frustrated by slapping her thigh and chucking her racket to the ground after missing some golden opportunities. The 11th seed’s mood deteriorated further when back-to-back forehand mistakes handed Swiatek the first set after 45 minutes of play.
The 2020 champion was also far from satisfied with parts of her game as she glared towards her camp in the crowd multiple times with expressions of dismay. However, it failed to derail Swiatek in the match who broke four games into the second frame with a winning backhand return. From that point onwards Pegula began to drift away on the court and her belief that she could win subsided. Paving way for Swiatek to clinch victory on her fourth match point opportunity by hitting a clear backhand winner.
“I think when you stop being nervous there is something going on because I am always nervous (playing matches). Sometimes stress is a positive thing. It can make you more active and more tense so you can play your best performance so I can use it that way.” She explained.
Standing in Swiatek’s way of a place in the final is Russia’s Daria Kasatkina who is enjoying her best-ever run at a major event. World No.20 Kasatkina defeated compatriot Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 7-6(5), in her quarter-final match. She is yet to drop a set in the tournament.
“We played a few times this year. I lost those matches but it was a different story. It was a hard court, at the beginning of the year and I was not in the same shape as I am now,” Kasatkina said. “I cannot compare what we are going to have tomorrow (in the semi-final) and what we had in February, March when we were playing. So it’s going to be a completely different match. I want to win a lot, she wants to win as well, and it’s going to be a good match.”
“You never know what’s going to happen in the semifinal of a Grand Slam.”
Swiatek leads Kasatkina 3-1 in their head-to-head with her only loss occurring during their first meeting on grass last year.
