Iga Swiatek the first Polish woman in a US Open Final!

World No.1 Iga Swiatek had to pull off multiple comebacks Thursday night before making the US Open final for the first time in her career.

Swiatek fought back from a one-set deficit, as well as from a break down in the third set twice, before edging No.6 seed Aryna Sabalenka 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in a 2-hour, 11-minute semifinal showdown on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Swiatek, who had never made a US Open quarterfinal before this season, is now into her third career Grand Slam final, her second of the year and first off the red clay of Roland Garros. Swiatek is 2-0 in Grand Slam finals in her career. She won in Paris in 2020 and earlier this year.

It's Iga vs. Ons: Swiatek will now meet No.5 seed Ons Jabeur in Saturday’s women’s singles final after Jabeur breezed past No.17 seed Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-3 in the night’s first semifinal. Swiatek and Jabeur are No.1 and No.2 in match-wins this season.

The head-to-head between Swiatek and Jabeur is deadlocked at two wins apiece, and they are 1-1 on hard courts. In their only meeting this season, Swiatek prevailed in the Rome final on clay 6-2, 6-2.

Preserving the lead: On Thursday night, Swiatek fought hard to maintain the lead she currently holds in her rivalry with Sabalenka. Sabalenka won their first meeting at last year’s WTA Finals, but Swiatek has now won all four of their matches this season.

Their previous meetings this year had all been routine straight-set wins for Swiatek, but this one went down to the wire. Sabalenka led by 2-0 and 4-2 in the third set, but Swiatek took the last four games of the match.

For Sabalenka, it marks her third narrow loss in a Grand Slam semifinal. Sabalenka fell in the same round at 2021 Wimbledon and the 2021 US Open -- and she lost each of those matches 6-4 in the third.

Match moments: Sabalenka took a critical lead in the opener by converting her fourth break point of the 2-2 game with an error-forcing forehand. A sturdy volley gave Sabalenka a second break and the one-set advantage.

However, Swiatek brought her power plays to the fore in the second set, breaking Sabalenka at love in the opening game. Backing her big shots up with improved defense, Swiatek rolled through that set to level the match.

After an early exchange of breaks in the third set, a volley winner gave Sabalenka a key break for 3-2, and after consolidating, she was two games away from her first major final. But Swiatek bided her time and broke back at love for 4-4, wrapping up that game with a backhand crosscourt winner.

At 5-4, a resurgent Swiatek finished off a rally with a winning overhead to reach 0-40 and triple-match point. A forehand winner by Sabalenka saved the first, but on the second, Sabalenka’s backhand found the net.

Swiatek finished the match with two more winners and 12 fewer unforced errors than Sabalenka. The top seed saved her top tennis for the latter stages of the match.

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Iga Swiatek the first Polish woman to reach U.S. Open semi-finals!

 

World No.1 Iga Swiatek of Poland booked a spot in her third Grand Slam semifinal of the year with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win over No.8 seed Jessica Pegula of the United States in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night.


Top seed Swiatek reached the semifinals at the Australian Open to start the Grand Slam season (losing to Danielle Collins) before winning her second Roland Garros title in the last three years.

No.1: Swiatek is the first No.1 seed to reach the US Open women's singles semifinals since Serena Williams in 2016. She completed this year's US Open semifinal lineup after moving past American No.1 Pegula in 1 hour and 51 minutes.

55: Swiatek has now won 55 matches already in 2022. The last player to collect more match-wins in a single season was Ashleigh Barty, who won 57 matches in 2019.

6: Swiatek has garnered six WTA singles titles in her superb 2022 thus far. Another title would make Swiatek the first player to win seven or more titles in a single season since Serena Williams in 2014.

3: Swiatek dropped her first meeting with Pegula at 2019 Washington, D.C., and Pegula went all the way to her first WTA singles title that week.

But Swiatek has now gotten her revenge three times over in 2022, with her latest victory added to this year’s wins over Pegula at Miami and Roland Garros.

16 of 18: On Wednesday night, Pegula led by an early break and was up 3-2, 30-0, but the American fired four straight unforced errors from there to cede the break back to Swiatek. That was all the Pole needed to surge back, and she won 16 of the last 18 points in the first set.

22: In the topsy-turvy second set, each player held serve only once, and Swiatek failed to serve out the match at 5-4 and 6-5. The pair exchanged winners down the stretch of the decisive tiebreak, and Swiatek at last got to double match point at 6-4 with a backhand strike.

Swiatek needed only one match point to wrap up the win, aiming a forehand down the line to force an error from Pegula. Swiatek had 22 winners in the clash to Pegula's 14, and she finished with only three more unforced errors than the American.

61%: In a match that increasingly favored the returner as it wore on, Swiatek won 61 percent of return points while Pegula won 50 percent. Swiatek converted 7 of 11 break points while Pegula was also a solid 6-for-10.

3-1: On Thursday night, Swiatek will take on No.6 seed Aryna Sabalenka, with each of them vying for a spot in their first US Open final.

Swiatek leads their head-to-head 3-1. Sabalenka won their first meeting at last year's WTA Finals. But, just as she had against Pegula, Swiatek has avenged that defeat with three wins over Sabalenka during the World No.1's sizzling 2022 season.

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Iga Swiatek survives, becomes first Polish woman to reach U.S. Open Quarterfinals

Playing on the first Monday of September, the 23-year-old Niemeier pushed the top-seeded Swiatek to three sets. Ultimately, the Pole prevailed, advancing to her first US Open quarterfinal, 2-6, 6-4, 6-0, after two hours and 23 minutes

It was the players’ first meeting, and Swiatek admitted beforehand that “I don't know a lot honestly [about Niemeier’s game]. I know she has a pretty nice serve. We never practiced, so I don't know how it feels on a racquet. Tactically, I trust my coach that he's going to prepare well. I know she is really talented. It's going to be a great battle.”

The first two sets certainly were a "great battle."

In the first set, Niemeier took a 2-0 lead by winning 8 of the first 11 points and breaking Swiatek in the opening game. Niemeier broke Swiatek again in the seventh game to take a 5-2 lead and serve for the set. After double-faulting on the first set point, Neimeier prevailed on the next one to take the set 6-2, when Swiatek hit a forehand into the net.

In the second set, both players had such a hard time holding serve in that set, that they were broken in seven of the 10 games. In set two alone, Niemeier only put 47% of her first serves into play; during the crucial 10th game where she had a chance to even the set at five apiece, she made her ninth double fault of the match, ceding the set to Swiatek, 4-6.

Swiatek regained form in the third set, while Niemeier’s first-serve percentage continued to drop all the way down to 37%.

Asked what she was “most proud of” about the match in which she made 31 unforced errors (compared to Niemeier’s 45), Swiatek said: “That’s a tough question, honestly. I’m just proud I didn’t lose hope. In the second set, I tried to focus on small things. I’m pretty glad it worked.

“For sure I'm pretty happy that I didn't give up,” Swiatek added, explaining how she tried to find solutions in the second and third sets.

Despite the match's intense physicality, Swiatek said she felt like she outpowered her opponent at the end and that she was "solid" during the important moments.

“For sure this match gave me a lot," Swiatek said. "It's nice to come back and lean on that, that you can change something and play better, also make some adjustment during the game."

In the quarterfinals, Swiatek will face No. 8 seed Jessica Pegula from Buffalo, N.Y., who beat two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in straight sets earlier in the day.

"I think she has a game style that suits these courts," Swiatek said of Pegula. Explaining that her confidence improves with each match, the Pole is still trying to maintain expectations: "I'm just happy that I did a better job than last year and I'm going to push forward."

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Well this match can only be described as ugly. Sometimes winning ugly is the only way to go. That's what happened here. 

I gotta say there were several times during this match I thought Iga was a goner (and my brand new 4K tv was in real danger of sustaining damaged due to that frustration). 

If it wasn't for her concentration, perseverance and physical conditioning along with a few lucky/tight errors from her opponent at the end of the 2nd set she probably wouldn't have made it. 

I guess it's as the saying goes champions find a way, even if that way is not a pretty one at times. 

She definitely has some things to work on in practice before her battle with Pegula on Wednesday, about the only good thing coming out of this match was Iga's 19th bagel set of the year. 

On another very positive note Poland finally has the first ever woman quarterfinalist in the United States Open.  

Makes it worth all the stress and definitely something to be extremely proud of.

Onward to the next, Jazda!

Iga Swiatek into week 2 of U.S. Open 2nd year in a row

NEW YORK -- Iga Swiatek is still only 21 years old, but she’s displayed some frightening consistency this year. During a 37-match winning streak, she won her second major at Roland Garros and WTA 1000s in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami and Rome.

She’s trying to become the first player since Serena to win seven titles in a single year -- and that was eight years ago, when Williams also became the last No.1 seed to take this title.

Swiatek took another step Saturday at the US Open. She defeated American Lauren Davis 6-3, 6-4 in a third-round match. But it was tougher than the score line indicated.

“I could not find my rhythm today,” Swiatek said in her on-court interview. “She played pretty smart. I’m pretty happy at the end that I could put balls in.

“I’m just trying to enjoy any match, even when I’m not perfect.”

In the summer hard-court season, though, Swiatek’s won only four of seven matches.

Against Davis, she came out firing, hitting nine winners (two aces) in the first two games, the second one a break of Davis’ serve. That offense, combined with her usual spotless defense, marked by her trademark squat shots and some screeching slides, was a lot for Davis to take in. Before serving at 2-5, Davis called for the trainer, who checked her temperature and blood pressure.

Swiatek won the first set when a 108 mph offering was not returned.

Davis came back in the second, taking the first three games. Swiatek got her first game after a grueling five-deuce affair that left both players winded. Davis saved three break points in the next game and eventually held.

Swiatek broke back to get to 3-4 and back on serve. Davis wound up losing the last five games of the match. Swiatek converted only three of 14 break points.

This equals Swiatek’s best result at the US Open, her 2021 run. She remains undefeated against players ranked outside the Top 100 in Grand Slam play (15-0). She’s won 53 matches this season and is already closing in on the most recent standard, 57, set three years ago by Ashleigh Barty.

Davis, in her 10th US Open main draw, equaled her best effort in a major by reaching the third round. The last (and only other) time she faced a World No.1, she played a heroic match, losing to Simona Halep 15-13 in the third set at the 2018 Australian Open. Davis is now 11-15 for the year.

Swiatek rose to the No.1 ranking back in April after Barty announced her retirement. The past five months have given her a greater appreciation of Serena’s staying power over the years.

“Being in this situation,” she said, “I know how tough it is sometimes to find balance and to actually stay focused on the proper things. I think she did very well. I have huge appreciation because it’s one of my goals actually to be consistent throughout my whole career, staying Top 10 for a long, long time.

“She was No.1 for a long, long time, so it’s pretty crazy. For sure, I understand it little bit more right now, how much work she has put into it.”

Swiatek will face Germany's Jule Niemeier in the fourth round. A quarterfinalist at Wimbledon earlier in the summer, Niemeier stunned Zheng Qinwen 6-4, 7-6(5) to make the Round of 16 in her tournament debut. Ranked No.108, Niemeier outhit Zheng with 22 winners, nearly doubling up on the rising Chinese star's 12.

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Iga Swiatek passes Sloane Stephens test to move into U.S. Open 3rd round

 

No.1 seed Iga Swiatek needed only 74 minutes to dispatch 2017 champion Sloane Stephens 6-3, 6-2 at the US Open, booking her place in the last 32 for a third consecutive year.

Swiatek is adapting to the tennis balls: Ahead of the US Open, Swiatek's discomfort with the lighter US Open balls became a significant narrative -- particularly given her third-round losses in both Toronto and Cincinnati to Beatriz Haddad Maia and Madison Keys respectively.


In Cincinnati, Swiatek did manage to beat Stephens 6-4, 7-5 in the second round, though, and reprised the result in New York with an even more straightforward score line.

One of her complaints regarding the balls was that her groundstrokes tended to fly a bit more than usual, and indeed her 17 unforced errors were perhaps more than the World No.1 would have liked. But she also struck 14 winners, and the intensity of her footwork to ensure she was in the right position to unleash her forehand was noticeable.

"For sure I'm closer to accepting [the balls] than on two previous tournaments, so that's pretty nice," Swiatek had said after her first-round win over Jasmine Paolini.

Swiatek's serve was also a key. She lost only seven points behind her first delivery and dropped serve just once -- an anomalous loose third game of the match when she was already up a break. Serving for the match, she rained down four consecutive service winners to seal victory.

Stephens still searching for consistency: Former World No.3 Stephens has had a couple impressive highlights in 2022: her seventh career title in Guadalajara in February, and her seventh Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros.

But outside of those two tournaments, she has won only four matches. Her overall record is 13-14, and her ranking is now No.51. Two weeks ago, she pushed Swiatek to two tight sets.

At Flushing Meadows, though, she committed 18 unforced errors to only seven winners; Stephens found success going toe-to-toe with Swiatek in longer baseline exchanges, but was too often unable to extend the points that far to begin with.

Swiatek's draw is opening up: A number of dangerous seeds lurked in Swiatek's section of the draw -- particularly No.16 Jelena Ostapenko, whom she is 0-3 against, and No.28 Ekaterina Alexandrova, who defeated Swiatek 6-4, 6-2 at the 2021 Gippsland Trophy in their only previous meeting.

But Ostapenko fell in the first round to surging 19-year-old Zheng Qinwen. Swiatek's next opponent will not be Alexandrova, but Lauren Davis, who pulled off an impressive comeback to win 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5). The greatest danger in Swiatek's bid to make a first US Open quarterfinal could be Zheng, the only player to win a set from her during her Roland Garros title run.

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Sloane really didn't play her best, but a win is a win, and for Iga who's still searching for her form and confidence (all the while figuring out the tennis ball issue), every win is a good one. 

Agree with the article I think Zheng will be Iga's biggest obstacle (if she gets there) 

On to the next one Iga. Jazda!

Iga Swiatek back to winning ways with U.S. Open opener

[1] Iga Swiatek (POL) d. Jasmine Paolini (ITA) 6-3, 6-0

Swiatek has played down expectations ahead of the fourth major of the year. Since her 37-match winning streak, the longest of this century, was ended by Alizé Cornet in the third round of Wimbledon, the Pole won just four out of seven matches before the US Open. In the run-up, she was open about her dislike of the balls used at Flushing Meadows.

But this emphatic 67-minute win was a reminder that, even out of her comfort zone, the 21-year-old can still be a destructive force. Swiatek smacked 14 winners to Paolini's five, and was ruthless in converting seven of nine break points.

The No.56-ranked Italian battled hard, breaking back twice in the first set and then winning the point of the match in the second with a backhand winner after going to to toe with Swiatek for 27 shots. But it wasn't enough to halt Swiatek's momentum as the World No.1 powered to her 18th bagel set of the year.

"I think just we did huge work before the tournament to work properly, but on the other hand also chill out and find a proper balance," Swiatek said, after her win.

Swiatek will next face 2017 champion Sloane Stephens, who overcame Greet Minnen 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Swiatek and Stephens squared off for the first time this month in Cincinnati, where Swiatek won 6-4, 7-5.

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18th love set of the year. Simply Iga Swiatek things :D

Tennis unites for Ukrainian relief efforts at US Open

Tennis' biggest stars gathered Wednesday night under the lights of Louis Armstrong Stadium to play for peace.

WTA stars Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Maria Sakkari, Leylah Fernandez, Dayana Yastremska, Katarina Zavatska and Daria Snigur joined ATP stars including Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini and Carlos Alcaraz at the Tennis Plays for Peace exhibition ahead of the US Open, the year's final Grand Slam.

All proceeds from the exhibition were to be donated to GlobalGiving, the international non-profit identified by Tennis Plays for Peace. All donations to GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund will support humanitarian assistance in impacted communities in Ukraine and surrounding regions where Ukrainian refugees have fled.

US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster opened the event by saying that $1.2 million for Ukraine was expected to be raised over the course of the US Open.

Five doubles sets were played across the exhibition: Swiatek and Nadal first faced John McEnroe and Gauff, followed by Pegula and Ben Shelton facing Fernandez and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

After Swiatek and Nadal won the spirited set, Swiatek spoke about how the situation in Ukraine has been top of mind for her over the last six months.

Swiatek called on the Ukrainian people to stay strong in her victory speech at Roland Garros in June, and last month, raised 500,000 Euros in support of Ukrainian children at an exhibition event in Poland that also featured Agnieszka Radwanska and Elina Svitolina.

Zavatska was the first Ukrainian player to take the court on the night, partnering Italy's Berrettini against Sakkari and Tsitsipas. One of the highlights of their set was Tsitsipas committing to make an individual donation in support of the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund.

Zavatska, who represented Ukraine in Billie Jean King Cup play against the U.S. earlier this year called special attention to the fact that the exhibition was held on Aug. 24, or Ukraine's Independence Day.

“On this day, all the Ukrainian people ... this year’s fireworks are not the same," she said. "I really wish next year we will celebrate this day with a free Ukraine.”

After a men's doubles set between Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Alcaraz, Tiafoe returned to the court to partner Yastremska against Snigur and Sebastian Korda.

Draped in a Ukrainian flag at the conclusion of the set that she and Tiafoe won, Yastremska spoke from her heart and spoke of the future she hoped to see: “One day … every single person is going to live in peace. And everything is going to be OK.”

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