No person mentioned it might be simple, however Iga Swiatek’s path to a fourth consecutive French Open title has introduced her greatest impediment but.
After facing a gauntlet of formidable opponents — Emma Raducanu, Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina — the Pole will now must defeat World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka within the semifinal on Thursday.
And if she will be able to survive the Belarusian, she is going to doubtless face both Coco Gauff or teenage prodigy Mirra Andreeva in Saturday’s remaining.
A lot of Swiatek’s difficult path was her personal doing. The five-time champion arrived at Roland Garros in poor kind, struggling a third-round exit at Rome and a straight-sets loss to Gauff at Madrid. Because of this, she fell to World No. 5, her lowest rating in over three years, resulting in her being seeded in the identical draw as Sabalenka.
In some ways, the trail has helped Swiatek regain her mojo. After dropping the primary set to Rybakina in a breeze, after which happening 2-0, she needed to dig deep and discover the mettle that made her the Queen of Clay. That grit carried over into Tuesday’s quarterfinal in opposition to Svitolina, whom she overcame in 1 hour and 41 minutes with a 6-1, 7-5 victory.
Swiatek leads Sabalenka 8-4 in their career head-to-head, together with 5-1 on clay, however she is aware of higher than to underestimate her opponent. In what can be their maiden conflict at Roland Garros, Swiatek expects a troublesome battle.
“For positive our rivalry is pushing each of us, I believe, however it’s not solely concerning the degree of tennis,” she mentioned, via WTAtennis.com. “It is about like every part, how we work, and the way skilled we’re.”
Two wins from historical past
Swiatek is aiming to develop into the primary girl within the Open Period to win 4 consecutive French Open titles. Monica Seles (1990–92) and Justine Henin (2005–07) are the one different ladies to have gained three straight. The Pole would already maintain the document have been it not for her quarterfinal loss to Maria Sakkari in 2021. She gained her first French Open title in 2020 as a youngster ranked World No. 54.
Her twenty sixth consecutive win at Roland Garros on Tuesday allowed her to equal the nice Serena Williams’ document (U.S. Open) for the longest win streak at a significant. She additionally grew to become the second-fastest participant, male or feminine, to notch 40 wins at Roland Garros, only one shy of Rafael Nadal.
