After missing the first round, Swiatek opened the tournament with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Sloane Stephens. She beat Elina Svitolina 6-1, 6-4 in the third round to book her place in the quarterfinals, where she faced Zheng Qingwen.
Swiatek, thanks to an early break, took a 3-0 lead in the first set. She held the lead until the end of the set and won it 6-3
In the second set, starting with a score of 2-1, Szwiatek won five games in a row and won with a score of 6-3, 6-2.
Kalinskaya made it through the qualifying rounds and picked up solid wins over Storm Hunter, Kristina Buksa and Jelena Ostapenko to reach the quarterfinals. She then faced world number three Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals.
Kalinskaya trailed for most of the first set, Gauff, with the score 2-1, won four of the next five games and took the set.
In the second set, Kalinskaya took a 5-2 lead. Although she failed to close out the set the first time, she didn’t hesitate on her next attempt and tied the score. In the deciding set, Kalinskaya twice took her opponent’s serve, winning with a score of 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
This will be the first meeting between Iga Swiatek and Anna Kalinska.
Kalinskaya defeated Gauff and reached the semi-finals of the biggest tournament of her career. It was her third victory against a top 10 player this season. As for Swiatek, his victory over Zheng extended his unbeaten streak to seven matches.
The Polish player also hasn’t lost a set since winning the Qatar Open title. Kalinska’s strike could potentially cause problems for Swiatek, but Iga should have already prepared well for it. It’s hard to stop the world No. 1 when she starts.
Kalinskaya was perhaps a little tired after her exploits this week, given that she had to compete in the qualifying rounds. The Russian will do everything possible to have a chance of reaching her first WTA 1000 final, but defeating the world number one is too serious a task.
Forecast: Iga Swiatek will win in straight sets.
Source: Sport
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
