Iga Swiatek
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Defending champion Iga Swiatek felt the heat as she booked a French Open final spot for the third time in four years with a 6-2 7-6(7) win over Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia.
The world number one found it tough going during the second set but when it came to the tiebreak, she produced her full array of shots to outwit Haddad Maia and set up a final showdown with unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova.
Swiatek, who lifted the Suzanne Lenglen Cup last year and in 2020, will retain top spot in the WTA rankings after world number two Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus was knocked out earlier.
As fans waved a Polish ‘Poland Garros’ flag in stands that were half empty when the match started, Swiatek showed rare signs of frustrations but managed to hold it together when it mattered to prevail as the clock hit the 9pm mark.
The 14th seeded Haddad Maia, whose career has been hampered by multiple injuries and 10-month doping ban in 2019-20, had played four consecutive three-set matches to fight her way to the semi-finals but she finally met her match in Swiatek.
Swiatek’s previous matches had lasted only a little over an hour each, while Haddad Maia had spent nearly 13 hours on court.
Meanwhile Muchova saved a match point before battling past second seed Sabalenka 7-6(5) 6-7(5) 7-5 to reach the French Open final and end the Belarusian’s dream of becoming world number one.
Australian Open champion Sabalenka would have taken over the top spot in the rankings by winning the title in Paris but she failed to convert her chance at 5-2 in the third set and bowed out to the gifted Czech, who cleverly defused her opponent’s power game and took the last five games in a row.
The last unseeded player left in the men’s and women’s draw, Muchova did not attempt to match Sabalenka’s massive hitting power from the baseline.
Instead the Czech, who battled back from the mid-200s into the top 50 after an injury in 2021, opted for a lighter touch.
She sliced the ball to take the pace off, playing Sabalenka’s backhand and hitting drop shots to force the tall Belarusian into the net.
Sabalenka, the biggest hitter in the women’s game, could not use her fierce forehand at will and was clearly rattled.
-Reuters
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