Iga Swiatek's extraordinary Doha streak ends in the semis

 Every player in the history of this sport has always had one opponent who was their kryptonite. When Federer first started out it was Nalbandian than Djokovic. 

For Maria Sharapova it was Serena Williams (who she never beat). 

And for Iga Swiatek that person is Jelena Ostapenko. 

To be fair all the players I mentioned actually met a lot more often whereas Iga and Penko meet once every couple of years hard to get a handle or come up with an effective strategy on a player like this when you don't play them much.

Still with a 5-0 H2H now, it's safe to say Ostapenko is definitely in Iga's head for the moment (doesn't mean it'll stay like this forever). 

It quite often depends on which Ostapenko shows up. The one who can barely get a ball in court and makes error after error, or the one who cannot miss. 

For the moment Iga keeps meeting the latter. 

Of course it figures Ostapenko would find her form when she falls on Iga's side of the draw. Something about Iga's game suits her, and for Iga it's the polar opposite. 

I'm willing to bet though even if Ostapenko wins this title tomorrow we'll probably not see her win much else for the rest of the year. 

She has always been hot and cold in this regard. 

When she's on she's on, but when she goes off you won't see her do anything of note on court for months. It's Ostapenko in a nutshell really. 

Of  course with this loss social media is starting to spout their usual nonsense, she's got a new coach but nothing has changed, she's afraid of change, her game has been stagnant since last year, blah, blah blah. 

So beyond tired of it.

When just a month ago they were all singing Iga's praises regarding her serve forehand and so on. 

So many continue to forget Iga is a human being not a robot, she's going to lose matches it's the nature of any sport. 

Honestly when Ostapenko plays like this there are very few people who can stop her. Ons Jabeur who's the queen of variety barely got a few games this week having just beaten her last week in Abu Dhabi.

It's impossible to win with someone who's just redlining, hitting one-two punches (with every ball going in) and basically ending the rally before it even starts. 

Ostapenko will always be an anomaly, so I'm honestly not reading much into it. She just loves ruining all the fun. 

We move on to Dubai (and pray Ostapenko is far away from Iga or gets knocked out early).

Keep your head up Iga, the year is still going great. 

Iga Swiatek makes it 15 straight wins in Doha

 

Three-time defending Qatar TotalEnergies Open champion Iga Swiatek returned to the semifinals with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Elena Rybakina in Thursday's quarterfinals -- her 15th straight win at the tournament overall.

In a rematch of last year's championship match, Swiatek came from 4-2 down in the second set, and saved two break points at 4-4, before eventually wrapping up a straight-sets victory in 1 hour and 36 minutes.

After beating Rybakina at last month's United Cup, Swiatek has now leveled her all-time head-to-head against the Kazakh to 4-4, and she continues on her quest to be just the second WTA player since 2000 to win four straight titles at a single event.

But Swiatek will need to get a first win in five tries against Jelena Ostapenko, the 2016 Doha finalist, for another spot in the final match. Ostapenko defeated Ons Jabeur in Thursday's third quarterfinal, 6-2, 6-2, to book her own spot in the semifinals.

How the match was won: After a 36-minute first set, where Swiatek won the first three games and never faced a break point, Rybakina converted on her second chance in the second set's opening game to set a new tone for the match.

What followed was an hour-long set in which Rybakina bent, but never broke -- at least at first. She saved two break points in her first service game to lead 2-0, and three more the next time she stepped to the line to extend her advantage to 3-1.

But handed a sixth break point in the set at 4-3, 15-40, it was Swiatek's turn to come up with clutch play. As Rybakina charged the net off of a well-timed backhand, Swiatek whipped a forehand past her for the break back.

In the deciding game, Swiatek hammered a cross-court backhand return winner off of a short second serve to deny Rybakina a tiebreak, and the contest ended two points later when the No. 5 seed served up just her second double fault in the match overall.

"I'm super happy, super proud of myself. Playing against Elena is never easy," Swiatek said afterwards. "At the beginning of the second set, she increased her level, so I needed to do that too to come back.

I'm really happy, especially in the last game, to break Elena, because with her serve, it's tough."

Stat of the day: The win is Swiatek's 100th at WTA 1000 level in 121 matches played -- making her the second-fastest to the milestone after Serena Williams, who played 115 WTA 1000 matches to do it.

wtatennis.com


70 - Since the inception of the Tier format in 1990, Iga Swiatek (70.1%) is now one of only three players to hold a 70+% win rate vs WTA top 10 opponents, along with Steffi Graf (75%) and Serena Williams (70.9%). Company.

15 - Iga Swiatek has become the player with the longest winning streak at the Qatar Open since the tournament’s inception in 2001 (15 wins in a row). Home.

A near perfect 1st set and a come back from a break down in the 2nd against Rybakina a rival who frustrated Iga to no end in the past. 

Now she finally seems to have a handle on it. Shows excellent improvement and overall great mentality. Serve held up quite well today too.

Up next will be the bane in Iga's side (along with her fans) Jelena Ostapenko whom she hasn't played since U.S. Open 2023.

Doha is where Iga finally overcame the one sided H2H she used to have with Maria Sakkari (which she now leads). It's also where she got her first win over Rybakina. 

So if there was ever a place to finally break the Ostapenko curse of 0-4 it is here.

Jazda Iga go for it!. It's finally your time to show Penko exactly how for you've come.

Iga Swiatek keeps Doha four-peat hopes alive with gritty Noskova win

There may be no more intimidating sight in today’s tennis than Iga Swiatek on the other side of the net in Doha. But for more than two-and-a-half hours Wednesday, a fearless 20-year-old from the Czech Republic challenged the World No. 2 in every way possible.

In the end, Swiatek displayed those ethereal qualities that helped her capture five Grand Slam singles titles, the most of any currently active player under 40. Slowly, she reeled in No. 33 Linda Noskova and emerged with a 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-4 victory in the Round of 16 at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open.

This was Swiatek’s 14th consecutive match win in Doha and it keeps alive her chances to score a rare four-peat. She has won 15 of 16 matches in Doha (.930), history’s best mark.

On Thursday, Swiatek will meet No. 5 Elena Rybakina, a 7-6 (1), 6-2 winner over Rebecca Sramkova, in what promises to be a rousing quarterfinal match.

The other Top 4 seeds will be absent from the final four after a string of upsets Tuesday that saw No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 7 Zheng Qinwen and No. 9 Paula Badosa fall out of the draw. On Wednesday, No. 4 Jasmine Paolini was upset by Jelena Ostapenko.

Thus, Swiatek and Rybakina are the two highest-seeded players left. Rybakina leads the entertaining series 4-3. It will be a rematch of last year's Doha final, which Swiatek won 7-6(8), 6-2 to seal her three-peat.

Although Swiatek is a four-time Roland Garros champion, Rybakina won both of their matches on clay, two years ago in Rome and last year in Stuttgart. Swiatek holds a 3-2 lead on hard courts, including the only match this year -- a 7-6 (5), 6-4 barnburner less than six weeks ago at the United Cup in Sydney.

“Tough opponent as always,” Rybakina said of Swiatek. “Going to focus on myself, and try to stay aggressive on the court. It’s definitely the toughest opponent so far on this tournament, so hopefully I can do well.”

That Noskova gave Swiatek a real ride was no random accident. For it was Noskova who drummed Swiatek out of the Australian Open last year with a three-set third-round win. Swiatek, though, has now won four of their five matches.

At 17, Mirra Andreeva is the youngest member of the PIF WTA Ranking’s Top 100. And while there are five 20-year-olds right behind her -- including World No. 3 Coco Gauff -- Noskova is the youngest of the bunch.

The first-set tiebreak was surprisingly one-sided. An unreturned serve gave Noskova a 2-1 lead when Swiatek wavered uncharacteristically. After her second errant forehand, she screamed “Iga!” twice in visible frustration. A few more errors, a few more big serves and Noskova had won seven of the extra session’s eight points.

Swiatek -- who had been pressured from the baseline -- gradually gathered herself in the second set. After three consecutive breaks of serve, Swiatek held for a 5-3 lead and eventually served it out.

Coming out fast in the third, Swiatek broke Noskova in the opening game but Noskova broke back to level it at 2-all. Serving at 3-4, down love-30, Swiatek won six consecutive points and delivered the emphatic break of Noskova to take a non-negotiable 5-4 lead.

Noskova finished with 16 aces, nine of them coming in the first set. But Swiatek was better in the big moments, saving six of eight break points and breaking Noskova's potent serve four times.

Noskova actually won more points, 101-98.

Although Swiatek said last year’s victory over Rybakina in the final was difficult, she called this one against Noskova her toughest win ever in Doha.

“Yeah, I think so,” she told reporters. “I would say Linda played amazing, and for sure she didn’t make it easy for me.”

But Rybakina, Swiatek said, is always a tough out.


“She likes playing here, she’s been in a final here last year, and last year also was tough. So I’ll be ready for some intense rallies, and some low balls, and good serving.”


wtatennis.com

Sometimes surviving tough test like this is all that matters and Iga give more than 100 percent today. 

More challenges ahead. But I think after today Iga is definitely ready to meet them. 

If you can survive an opponent who served 16 aces you're certainly well prepared for someone like Rybakina.

Jazda!.

Iga Swiatek starts Doha title defence with a win

The pointedly passive-aggressive question came up early in Iga Swiatek’s press conference at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open:

“By your high standards,” a reporter asked Sunday, “do you feel like you have a little bit more pressure on yourself when you’re looking for your first title in a little while?”

Swiatek, 23, but already far wiser than her numerical age, didn’t flinch.

“No,” she said. “I know how tennis works. It doesn’t always depend on you if you win titles or not. You just have to put 100 percent effort and commitment and you’ll get your chances if you play well and if you work hard.

“For sure, it will be nice to win some tournaments, but it’s never helpful to think about it before. You have to focus on every match specifically and do it step by step, so I’m going to try to do that again.”

With the emphasis on again.

Swiatek, we remind you, is the No. 2 player in the PIF WTA Rankings. It’s been all of eight months since Swiatek won her fourth title at Roland Garros in five years -- the fifth tournament win in a span of less than five months. That fabulous run began in Doha, where Swiatek became the first to win a WTA event for three consecutive years since Serena Williams owned Miami from 2013-15.

Swiatek is looking to become only the second woman this century to win the same tournament four consecutive times, after Caroline Wozniacki in New Haven, from 2008-2011. With all due respect to Connecticut’s Elm City, this is a prestigious WTA Tour 1000 event and would constitute a truly remarkable achievement.

The journey began Monday with a 6-3, 6-2 second-round win over Maria Sakkari. Swiatek, down a break at 3-2 in the first set, won eight straight games to turn it around. Swiatek converted five break points, three more than Sakkari.

Swiatek will play the winner between Linda Noskova and Yulia Putintseva.

After winning the first three matches against Swiatek, Sakkari has lost the past four. She hasn’t put together back-to-back WTA Tour match-wins since last summer’s Olympics.

Swiatek is a gaudy 14-1 in Doha, including 13 straight wins. That winning percentage of .933 isn’t far off her ethereal 35-2, .946 at Roland Garros. What is it about Doha that so suits her game at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex?

“Honestly,” Swiatek said, “hard to say. From what I remember it’s not like I’ve been playing flawlessly, so it’s not like these tournaments were perfect, but at some point always I found some solutions. I think the conditions here are pretty tricky, and I was patient enough to just keep focusing on my game.

“Every year it’s different, every year there is a different story, so it’s hard to compare and hard to find one thing that worked exactly.”

Her signature weapon, the furiously top-spinning forehand, is devastating on this outdoor hard court. It’s not quite as fast as the venues in Australia and it allows her a fraction more time to get set.

A quick review of her Doha dominance:

2022: Defeated Anett Kontaveit in the final, 6-2, 6-0, beating three Top 10 players in succession: No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 6 Sakkari, No. 7 Kontaveit.

2023: Defeated No. 4-ranked Jessica Pegula in the final, 6-3, 6-0, with a scalding total of five games dropped -- the fewest in a WTA event in a quarter-century.

2024: Defeated No. 4 Elena Rybakina in the final, 7-6(8), 6-2.

There were two walkovers along the way, but in those 12 matches, Swiatek lost a total of only 46 games, averaging 3.5 dropped games per match and winning 27 of 28 sets.

Keep in mind that this version of Swiatek is very much a work in progress. She’s been working with veteran coach Wim Fissette since the end of last year but do not, Swiatek said, expect “a sudden revolution in my game or in my preparation.”

Because she played the United Cup in Australia, Swiatek had time for only a two-week training block.

“I feel like he’s been through everything in tennis, probably, so for sure I want to use that experience,” Swiatek said. “I like how he works, and also it’s more like he’s showing me some different ways to do stuff, but also he’s really good at adjusting on how the process looks like before, because obviously it has been working.”

For the next week, she hopes to surf those positive Doha vibes. To all appearances, the pressure of the past is not part of the equation.

“I’m already kind of focusing on the next one,” Swiatek said, “not really coming back to what happened last years.”


wtatennis.com

Iga Swiatek loses heartbreaking semi at Aussie Open

 Well it happened, for the first time in her young career Iga lost a match from a set and match point up. A score line of 7/5 1/6 6/7 (10/8)

And it hurts, I can only imagine how Iga must have felt in the moment absolutely devasted no doubt. So close to becoming the first ever Polish Australian Open finalist. 

We were one point away from the first ever Iga vs Aryna meeting in a Slam final *sigh*

This match give me flashbacks to Wimbledon 2019 when Roger Federer lost to Djokovic with 2 match points on his serve. Never a fun one to remember as a Federer fan.

As Iga herself said in post match, that's sport for you, sometimes it just doesn't go your way. Obviously I still think that sooner rather than later Iga will finally get there. Being 23 she certainly has time on her side. 

But even knowing that, it still feels like today was such a huge lost opportunity. The draw this year was probably the most favorable Iga received in years. Playing at night in the slower conditions barely losing games to get to the semis, seemed like the stars were aligned. And yet. 

It was quite a nervy match from both lots of breaks of serve, but Iga still managed to steal the first set.

Quite a few unforced errors as wel  l. I think the nerves really effected the serve too just wasn't there for her in key moments, like 7-5 in the 10 point super tiebreak. 

 She was ahead in the breaker at least 3 times all she needed was one good unreturned serve and it could have completely turned the outcome on it's head. With 7 double faults and zero aces however hard not to feel pressure when you can't rely on your serve for some free points. 

Granted the fact that she still got to a tiebreak with twice as many unforced errors as winners is commendable. It shows real progress, Iga of last year probably would have completely panicked, overhit and lost this in straight sets. 

But today she really fought to the very end. And it was truly one of those tiebreaks that could have gone either way.

I have to give Madison Keys her due I didn't expect her to hold up physically after winning Adelaide and having so many 3 setters here. Respect. 

Will  she have enough to stop Aryna Sabalanka from becoming the 3rd player in history to 3peet at Aussie Open?. Honestly I think at this point the only person left who can stop Sabalenka is Sabalenka herself.

It may not have been the result we all wanted today, but looking at the positives she made her first semi in Australia in 3 years. 

Playing at night under the roof (probably her least fave conditions) on a fast hardcourt with a big hitter all things that everyone kept saying were not favorable to her ever winning in Aus. 

Yet she still almost pulled off the win.

With a new coach she's only been working with a few months. I saw her come to the net more often in this match then I have in the past 3 years. 

If she keeps working on it, you never know might finally be able to do something big on the grass of Wimbledon.

Everything is still a work in progress, but she made huge strides and with Wim at her side I'm absolutely certain it'll only get better. 

The season has only just begun, plenty of chances to improve and strive for more. 

Hold your head up high Iga, you give it your all and fought your heart out. You did Poland proud as always. 

As the saying goes you learn more from losses then victories. This will only make you stronger.

To paraphrase the great Sir Andy Murray you're getting closer. Rest up champ. See you on the tour in February.

Onward to the next.

Jazda!

Iga Swiatek makes 2nd career semi final at Australian Open

 

MELBOURNE -- World No.2 Iga Swiatek needed 89 minutes to make her first Grand Slam semifinal outside Roland Garros since winning the 2022 US Open. On Wednesday, the five-time major champion eased past No.8 Emma Navarro 6-1, 6-2 in the Australian Open quarterfinals.

Swiatek, 23, is the youngest player to reach seven Grand Slam semifinals since Maria Sharapova reached her seventh at the 2006 US Open. She has lost just 14 games en route to the semifinals, the fewest since Sharapova in 2013 (9). Only Sharapova, Monica Seles in 1991 (12) and Stefanie Graf in 1989 (13) have dropped fewer games to make the Australian Open semifinals in the Open Era since the tournament moved to 128-player draws.

Swiatek made her first hard-court Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open in 2022, where she lost to Danielle Collins. She will face another American for a spot in the final when she takes on No.14 Madison Keys. A champion in Adelaide two weeks ago, Keys notched her tour-leading 12th win of the season by defeating Elina Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the earlier quarterfinal.

The singles semifinals will be played on Thursday evening at Melbourne Park. Swiatek and Keys will follow the first semifinal between World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and No.12 Paula Badosa. If Sabalenka and Swiatek advance to Saturday's final, the blockbuster showdown will determine who leaves Melbourne Park as the Hologic WTA Tour World No.1.

In their first meeting since 16-year-olds at an ITF event in 2018, Swiatek broke first to lead 2-0 and took immediate control of the match. On a blustery day at Melbourne Park, Swiatek tapped into her aggressive clay-court style to push Navarro around the court, with deft and patient use of her topspin forehand. After pocketing the first set in 35 minutes, Swiatek was put under more consistent pressure in the early stages of the second set.

Navarro, playing in her third consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, earned her first break point of the match with Swiatek serving at 2-2. Swiatek wiped out that sole chance and broke in the next game. In all, Navarro managed to take Swiatek to deuce in three service games in the second set, but the former No.1 stood tall to finish her day perfect from the service line. She has not been broken in her last four matches.

With an eye towards reclaiming the No.1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek is the only semifinalist who has yet to drop a set in the tournament. Since her 6-3, 6-4 win over Katerina Siniakova in the first round, Swiatek has not lost more than 2 games in a set.

wtatennis.com

For just the 2nd time in her young career Iga Swiatek is back in semi-finals of the Australian Open. I have waited 3 long years for this. And it feels so damn good to say. 

The way she took charge from the get go on return of Navarro's serves today took me back to 2022 and the way she kept doing that to all her opponents for 37 straight matches. 

Simply remarkable. Navarro definitely pushed her in the 2nd set I'd say more so than Siniakova in round 1. 

And the set was a lot closer than the score makes it seem.  Lot's of extended physical rallies.

The way she used her speed, and played aggressive but with margin, and patiently waited for the right time to strike was just a joy to see. I have no doubt a lot of this is Wim Fisette's influence. 

Madison Keys her next opponent is always such an unknown, someone who's capable of knocking anyone off the court but also someone who can really go off, lose focus and become an error machine during a match. 

I guess it depends on how her opponent handles the highs and lows and whether they can take advantage. The one win Keys has over Iga was in Cincinnati where she did knock her off the court in quite quick conditions. 

Don't think that'll be the case here however. 

There's a few factors at play like this being a Grand Slam semi (instead of a tournament) Madison's 2nd ever Grand Slam semi if I recall correctly as well. 

So the occasion and nerves will definitely play a huge part. I think if Iga serves well, keeps it close score wise and gets Madison moving she has more than a good chance. It won't be easy, but definitely not impossible. 

Especially given Iga hasn't actually lost a set and unlike the 2022 semi didn't play a 3 hour marathon prior to it. So energy and physically-wise she'll be more than ready. 

Also unlike Cincinnati and the blazing hot sun, here they'll be playing at night where conditions should be much slower due to it being colder. 

I am glad she got things done in straight sets considering she has to play back to back days (today and tomorrow) unlike Sabalenka and Badosa who had a day off. 

Words can't express how badly I want this win for her. After everything she has been through the last few months it'd just feel so damn good. 

And it would finally shut everyone up regarding Iga not being able to play on a fast hard court.

Jazda Iga!, Poland is behind you and believes in you. 

Go out there and play your best like you've been showing the past 2 weeks. 

In fact forget about everything and everyone else just play for you. 

WADA won't appeal Iga Swiatek's case with CAS

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirms that following a thorough review, it will not lodge an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the case of Polish tennis player, Iga Świątek, who tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), a prohibited substance, in August 2024.

On 28 November, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), the independent body that delivers anti-doping programs on behalf of the International Tennis Federation, announced that Ms. Świątek had accepted a one-month period of ineligibility after the ITIA determined that her positive test for TMZ was caused by a contaminated melatonin product that is regulated as a medication in Poland and was sourced from a reputable pharmacy in that country.

WADA has conducted a full review of the case file related to the ITIA decision, which it received on 29 November. WADA’s scientific experts have confirmed that the specific contaminated melatonin scenario, as presented by the athlete and accepted by the ITIA, is plausible and that there would be no scientific grounds to challenge it at CAS.

Further, WADA sought advice from external legal counsel, who considered that the athlete’s contamination explanation was well evidenced, that the ITIA decision was compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code, and that there was no reasonable basis to appeal it to the CAS.

tennis.com

Thank goodness that's all over. Now she can truly just focus on playing the sport she's so damn good at.