Iga Swiatek first Polish player to win in Poland at Warsaw Open

World No.1 Iga Swiatek soared to her fourth title of the season Sunday with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Laura Siegemund in the final of the BNP Paribas Warsaw Open, her home tournament.


Swiatek picked up her 15th career title with the victory, adding to triumphs this year in Doha, Stuttgart and Roland Garros, and didn't lost a set over the course of the tournament.


"I want to thank my team and my family. It's not easy to play in Warsaw, but I'm so happy that we could manage and do everything we could today, after a pretty tiring day yesterday," Swiatek said.

"I wanted to put it all in and go for it. I'm pretty happy that I did."

Before taking the court against Siegemund, Swiatek finished off her semifinal against Yanina Wickmayer, 6-1, 7-6(6). The match was suspended on Saturday night due to darkness at 6-1, 5-5 -- after Swiatek led 5-2 and had three match points at 5-3 in the second set. Upon resumption, she was two points away from being pushed to a third set at 30-30 and deuce serving down 6-5, and needed three more match points in the tiebreak after nearly losing a 5-1 lead to seal victory.

But there was no such trouble against Siegemund in a championship match that lasted just 68 minutes. She broke Siegemund five times and never faced a break point to improve to 2-0 against the German all-time.

Siegemund, playing her first final since winning the 2017 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, upset No.4 seed Zhu Lin in the second round and spent more than six hours on court Saturday in winning her quarterfinal and semifinal matches against Lucrezia Stefanini and Tatjana Maria, which were played back-to-back as a result of rain earlier in the week.

"I'm sorry I couldn't put up more of a battle today, but it was a little bit too much yesterday," Siegemund said. "I tried my best, but the legs, they stayed at the hotel today.

"But for me, it was really a great success anyway ... it was almost a win for me to be a final at all. It's been a long time. On such a great stage with such great spectators. ... I just enjoyed it."

Swiatek was equally complimentary of Siegemund's effort for the week. The World No.153 is projected to rise more than 40 places in Monday's rankings.

"Laura, what you did yesterday was pretty surreal," Swiatek said. I don't know if anyone would be able to survive that, but you did. Congratulations for this run, because it's been a pretty great week, and it's nice that we could play this final."

wtatennis.com

15 - Among players who started their career in the Open Era, only Elina Svitolina (18) has won 15 WTA titles in fewer finals played than Iga Swiatek (19). Speedy.


87 - Iga Swiatek is 87-13 after her first 100 matches as the #1 in the world - the exact same record of the last player able to reach the mark of 100 WTA matches as #1, Serena Williams. Duo.

This was fun, and boy did Iga have to work for it playing back to back matches over 2 days. Wickmayer in particular really tested Iga mentally. 

A great way to start off the hardcourt season with a win on home soil. 

The first Polish woman ever to do so in the Open Era. 

Another one for the history books.  

Doesn't get better really. 

On to the hardcourts of North America next. 

Jazda!.

Iga Swiatek notches 100th career hardcourt win in Warsaw

In a career full of milestones, Iga Swiatek hit yet another one on Saturday, beating Czech teen Linda Noskova in the quarterfinals of Warsaw, 6-1, 6-4, for the 100th hard-court win of her career.

She’s now 100-33 in her career on hard courts.

SWIATEK’S HARD-COURT RECORD BY YEAR (tour-level):

2019: 7-7
2020: 7-4
2021: 20-11
2022: 47-7
2023: 19-4
TOTAL: 100-33

At 75.2%, it’s her second-best surface by career winning percentage. She’s 87.5% in her career on clay (63-9) and 68.4% on grass (13-6).

Because three of her four Grand Slam titles have come at Roland Garros, Swiatek is sometimes better known for her success on clay—but her 14 career tour-level titles are actually split evenly between clay and hard courts (7 and 7). Even her 18 career tour-level finals are split evenly between the two surfaces (9 and 9).

Swiatek almost secured the 101st hard-court win of her career on Saturday, too, as she led 2009 US Open semifinalist (and now mom-on-tour) Yanina Wickmayer in the semifinals of the WTA 250 event, 6-1, 5-2, but Wickmayer caught back up to 5-all in the second set when play was suspended for the day due to darkness.

On Sunday, Swiatek will not only try to close out that 101st hard-court win, she'll also try to reach the 19th WTA final of her career—and reach a WTA final on home soil in Poland for the first time.

Awaiting the winner of Swiatek-Wickmayer in the final later on Sunday will be Laura Siegemund, who won an all-German semifinal earlier in the day against 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist (and two-time mom-on-tour) Tatjana Maria, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

   tennis.com

Iga Swiatek pulls double duty in Warsaw to reach semis

World No.1 Iga Swiatek and Yanina Wickmayer will return to the court on Sunday at the BNP Paribas Warsaw Open to finish their semifinal match, and the winner will be back on court later to face Germany's Laura Siegemund.

Swiatek, the home favorite, led Wickmayer 6-1, 5-2 in the second semifinal Saturday, but couldn't finish off victory before the match was called off due to darkness.

The top seed served for the match twice, at 5-2 and 5-4, and also had three match points on Wickmayer's serve in the ninth game. But the Belgian, a former World No.12, climbed out of the hole and got even, ensuring her first semifinal appearance in six years would push on another day.

Earlier in the day, Swiatek and Wickmayer set their semifinal by winning their quarterfinal matches, which had previously been rained out on Friday. Swiatek beat eighth-seeded Czech teenager Linda Noskova 6-1, 6-4, in a match between the only two seeds to make the last eight, while Wickmayer beat Heather Watson 6-4, 6-3.

Siegemund, meanwhile, took the long road into her first singles final in five years. In all, she needed 6 hours and 15 minutes on court combined in the quarterfinal and semifinal against Italy's Lucrezia Stefanini and her compatriot Tatjana Maria to reach the championship match for the first time since winning the 2017 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on home soil.

Siegemund hit 59 winners to 30 unforced errors 2 hours and 56 minutes against her fellow German Maria, who struck 16 winners to 17 unforced errors.

"I have to say that the spectators, they carried me a little bit," Siegemund said after beating Maria. "Against Tadde, you have to win every point by yourself, she gives you nothing for free. I knew that. She's played like this all her life and it's very difficult because you keep making errors, and you need to believe in yourself.

Wickmayer is assured of playing twice on Sunday regardless of the result against Swiatek. She and Watson will play in the doubles final against Poles Weronika Falkowska and Katarzyna Piter.

wtatennis.com

2015 - Iga Swiatek is the first Polish player to reach a semi-final in a WTA event played in Poland since Agnieszka Radwanska in Katowice 2015. Pride.


100 - Iga Swiatek is the 8th player to reach the milestone of 100 matches as the #1 in the world since the WTA Rankings were published in 1975 after Evert, Navratilova, Graf, Seles, Hingis, Henin and Serena Williams. Centennial.

2 of my favourite stats this year. 

Iga Swiatek back in the quarterfinals on home soil at Warsaw Open

The Top 2 seeds had contrasting fortunes in the second round on Thursday at the BNP Paribas Warsaw Open.

World No.1 Iga Swiatek rolled in a 6-2, 6-2 win over American Claire Liu to book a spot in the quarterfinals, while No.2 seed Karolina Muchova was upset by Slovak qualifier Rebecca Sramkova 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 after failing to convert on a 5-1 lead and four match points in the third set.

Swiatek improved to 4-0 against Liu all-time, and 3-0 this year, with a 1-hour and 37-minute victory. After the American held serve to start the match, Swiatek won five straight games. She also won the first four games of the second set.

Liu previously finished off a 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-2 win over Yuan Yue in the opening round Thursday morning -- a match that began Tuesday, and then was washed out Wednesday due to rain. The pair were knotted at 4-4 in the first set when play was suspended on Tuesday and at 7-6(3), 2-4 on Wednesday.

Swiatek has dropped just nine games in eight sets played against Liu this year. (They were scheduled to play in the second round at the Miami Open, but Swiatek withdrew.)

Swiatek will next face eighth-seeded Linda Noskova, as the teenager was a 6-3, 6-3 winner against Viktoria Hruncakova in her second-round match. Swiatek and Noskova are the only seeded players to reach the quarterfinals.

wtatennis.com

Iga Swiatek starts hardcourt swing on home soil in Warsaw

A tennis player's white whale, so often, is winning their home tournament. In two decades in the Australian Open singles main draw, Samantha Stosur never reached the quarterfinals. It's been 20 years since an American man last won the US Open in singles. Pick any one of the litany of French players who've taken the court at Roland Garros since the days of Yannick Noah and Mary Pierce, and they'll tell you that a jam-packed stadium full of passionate Parisians is, in reality, a double-edged sword.

This year on the WTA Tour, fortunes for local favorites have been mixed. Katie Boulter beat Jodie Burrage in the final in Nottingham, the first all-British final on the women's tour since 1977, but Caroline Garcia and Jasmina Paolini both fell short in the final of events in Lyon, France in February, and Palermo, Italy, last week.

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, the dominant force on the WTA for the last 18 months, is hoping that on Sunday, she'll be standing in Boulter's company. Reigning US Open champion Swiatek's summer hard-court season is starting ahead of schedule, at a WTA 250 event in Warsaw, the Polish capital.

Twelve months ago, Swiatek lost in the quarterfinals to champion Caroline Garcia in her tournament debut, when the event was held on her favored clay. This year's pitstop in her backyard, again coming just before she heads across the Atlantic for WTA 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati, figures to be better-suited prep for the year's final major, which starts in a month's time.

Though she cleared the first hurdle in a 6-4, 6-3 win over Uzbekistan's Nigina Abduraimova on Tuesday, Swiatek was far from her vintage best. She faced eight break points and lost serve twice, let a lead of 4-2 slip in the opener, and made things complicated from 5-1 in the second set before ending the 95-minute match on her fourth match point.

There were adjustments made throughout, Swiatek said, from her playing style in her first hard-court match since March, to the "different stresses" she was experiencing mentally.

"First rounds, they aren't easy, and anybody who knows a little bit about tennis, they'll tell you that it's a little bit harder to play at home," she said afterwards in her on-court interview.

"But I'm happy to have a chance to play in front of the Polish crowds. They are following me every place that I play, but in Warsaw, it's even better. It's amazing, and I'm happy that I can enjoy that.

"Coming from grass courts ... for sure, I need to work on some stuff, but hopefully, I'm going to play better and better every day."

Wednesday's play in Warsaw was washed out due to rain, but Swiatek is expected to return to the court Thursday against either American Claire Liu or China's Yuan Yue.

For her personal comfort level, she might be hoping to see the American: Swiatek has never played Yuan, but is 3-0 against Liu all-time. She's lost just five games in two matches against her this year.

tennis.com

Iga Swiatek advances to Warsaw quarters to keep her clay win streak alive

 

No.1 seed Iga Swiatek's victorious homecoming continued with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat of lucky loser Gabriela Lee to reach the BNP Paribas Poland Open quarterfinals.

The result extended Swiatek's clay-court winning streak to 18, and her overall 2022 record to 48-4. The World No.1 has not lost a match on clay since the 2021 Roland Garros quarterfinals, where she fell to Maria Sakkari.

Against No.146-ranked Lee, Swiatek delivered an efficient and aggressive performance, firing 25 winners to the Romanian's three. Despite the rankings gulf, though, Texas Tech alumna Lee held her own for significant portions of the match.

Lee's unique game -- the 25-year-old is a left-hander with a one-handed backhand -- took some time for Swiatek to adapt to, and the first half of the first set took the pair to level pegging at 3-3. But a first double fault from Lee opened the door for Swiatek, and the Pole stormed through it, breaking with a ferocious inside-in forehand.

Swiatek had been near-flawless on serve in the first set, conceding only one point behind her delivery. Lee found her range on return slightly more in the second set, and even held break-back point trailing 4-1 following an exquisite dropshot. But Lee squandered her sole chance with a forehand error, and Swiatek motored to the finishing line.

Swiatek will next face No.5 seed Caroline Garcia in the quarterfinals. The Frenchwoman defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto for the second time in as many weeks, backing up her 0-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory in Palermo with a 6-3, 7-5 scoreline in Warsaw.

wtatennis.com

Iga Swiatek returns to winning ways on home soil in Warsaw

World No.1 Iga Swiatek enjoyed a happy homecoming at the BNP Paribas Poland Open, defeating Magdalena Frech 6-1, 6-2 in the first round.

Playing her first tournament since her historic 37-match win streak come to an end in the third round of Wimbledon, Swiatek dominated her compatriot to return to her winning ways.

"For sure playing in your hometown with all that crowd is pretty extraordinary," Swiatek said. "I didn't get a chance to play many tournaments in Poland so for sure I needed extra focus and determination to come here and stay in the zone and not let my head think about other stuff."

"I'm happy that I was solid today because Magda is not an easy opponent. From the beginning I wanted to put pressure on her and I did that pretty well. I'm pretty sure with our styles the result may be different on different surfaces, for example, grass. But here I didn't have a problem coming back with my topspins."

The victory brings Swiatek's tour-leading record to 47-4 this season and extended her clay-court win streak to 17 matches. The two-time French Open champion has lost just two sets over that span, winning Stuttgart, Rome, and Roland Garros this year. Swiatek is the fifth player in the 2000s to win 17 or more consecutive matches on clay, following in the footsteps of Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Justine Henin, and Maria Sharapova.

The last player to beat Swiatek on clay is Maria Sakkari, who ended her title defense in Paris last year.

Behind an efficient serving day, Swiatek did not face a break point in the match. After breaking to 3-1 in the opening set, the reigning French Open champion won five consecutive games to pocket the set in just over 30 minutes.

Swiatek did not let up in the second set. With Frech double-faulting to hand over the initial break at 3-2, the top seed reeled off the final five games of the second set to seal the 74-minute win.

"I had a break after Wimbledon but I pretty quickly forgot about it because I trained really hard. We had a small pre-season before this tournament. So physically I feel great. Mentally I had some challenges, like having that exhibition match in Krakow, which was really emotional. Mentally, it was crazy all that happened there."

Swiatek will face Romania's Gabriela Lee in the second round. After earning entry into the main draw as a lucky loser, Lee defeated Raluka Serban 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the first round.

wtatennis.com