Iga Swiatek to face Jabeur in Stuttgart semifinal
Iga Swiatek, who is the current world number one and defending champion, has made it to the semi-finals of the Stuttgart tournament after defeating 2018 Stuttgart champion Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Meanwhile, Tunisian world number four, Ons Jabeur, breezed past Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil with a comfortable scoreline of 6-3, 6-0, setting up a US Open final rematch against Swiatek.
Although Swiatek had defeated Pliskova in the 2021 Rome final without losing a game, the Czech player took control immediately on Friday, racing to a 4-0 lead in just over a quarter of an hour. However, Iga Swiatek responded by winning the first four games of the second set to level the contest. After breaking for 2-1 in the decider, she was never troubled again.
Swiatek currently holds a 3-2 career lead over Jabeur, with their most recent clash coming in the US Open final last year when the Pole won in straight sets for her second major of 2022. Jabeur believes that the key to winning against Iga Swiatek is to be unpredictable and not let her anticipate the shots.
In another match, world number two Aryna Sabalenka had to come from a set and a break down to beat Spanish wild card Paula Badosa and reach the semi-finals for the third consecutive year. The Belarusian won the match 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 30 minutes and will now face Russian Anastasia Potapova in the semi-finals, who ousted French fourth seed Caroline Garcia with a scoreline of 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
In the decider, Sabalenka and Badosa traded serves with five breaks, but Badosa, who is ranked 31st in the world, paid for a string of double faults with nine in total. Sabalenka sealed victory on her second match point with a backhand into an open court nailing her 40th winner of the day. The Australian Open champion advances to her fourth semi-final in six tournaments this year, with her overall record now 22-3 for 2023.
Sabalenka is looking for her first Stuttgart title after finishing as the runner-up in 2021 to Ashleigh Barty and in 2022 to Swiatek. Potapova, ranked 24th in the world, secured her third top-five win with a 2-hour, 12-minute upset of Garcia. Although she hit 19 winners compared to Garcia’s 34, she committed 42 unforced errors, while her seeded opponent made 69.
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