In the nightcap clash, No.7 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland zipped past No.1 seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-3 in an hour and 14 minutes to reach the semifinals.
Current World No.2 Sabalenka had won their only prior encounter in group play at the WTA Finals last season, but this time around it was Swiatek who was the dominant force to level their head-to-head. Swiatek is now 2-5 against Top 2 opponents in her career.
With the defeat, 2020 Doha champion Sabalenka will fall out of the World No.2 position, a spot she has held since August 23 of last year.
2020 Roland Garros champion Swiatek converted seven of her eight break points on the day. The Pole was also much more effective winning after first serves, as she won 68 percent of those points. Sabalenka's success rate behind her own first serves lingered at 41 percent.
"This match is going to give me a lot of confidence," Swiatek said in her post-match press conference. "I'm very happy that tactically I did a great job, and my mental game was also on point. That's the most important thing for me, because from the beginning I wanted to be aggressive and to be focusing on myself and on my game."
Six of the first seven games of the clash went to the returner, which put Swiatek at a distinct advantage as the lone hold in the second game of that streak contributed to her 5-2 lead. Another critical hold followed in the next game, giving Swiatek the opening set.
Sabalenka grabbed an early break and a 3-0 lead in the second set, but with extremely powerful forehands in her assortment of shots, Swiatek methodically chipped away at that advantage. Swiatek reeled off six games in a row from there to pick up the straight-set win.
Swiatek will take on No.6 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece for a spot in the final. Swiatek and Sakkari have met three times previously, all in 2021, and Sakkari emerged the winner each time, including in last year's Roland Garros quarterfinals where the Greek ended Swiatek's title defense.
I'll be honest I did not have a lot of confidence going into this match. I thought Sabalenka's power and stronger serve, which seems to have gotten over the yips would over take Iga. But boy, am I glad I was wrong.
Instead of worrying about her serve Swiatek focused on returning Sabalenka's serves which put pressure on her and didn't allow her to dictate the match with her power.
In fact Iga went toe to toe with her and won the majority of longer rallies by returning more effectively then her opponent. It was an absolute feast for the eyes.
It's a match that's worthy of more than one viewing. Having passed this huge test, next will come the real challenge of Maria Sakkari who has beaten Iga in every match they played last year.
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