Top-ranked Iga Swiatek overcame a rough start and a dispute with the chair umpire to defeat Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-6, 6-1 on Friday and advance to the semi-finals of the Western & Southern Open, a tournament she has never won.
Vondrousova was up 5-4 and serving for the first set before Swiatek broke, eventually winning a tiebreaker before cruising in the second.
The Czech’s left-handed serve made things difficult for the Polish four-time major singles champ.
Photo: AFP
“It wasn’t easy getting used to her lefty spin,” Swiatek said. “I practice sometimes with lefties at home. At the beginning it might be a little bit tough. You just have to adjust.”
Swiatek had a post-match exchange with chair umpire Marija Cicak after she felt rushed by Vondrousova throughout the match. By rule, players have up to 25 seconds to serve following a point.
“I really respect Marija, but she’s also very strict with the rules,” Swiatek said. “I have to be ready when [Vondrousova] is ready. She was ready always when there was still 20 seconds. The last two games, we played some long rallies. I’m human, I need to breathe.”
Swiatek faces seventh seed Coco Gauff of the US in the semis. Gauff beat Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2.
No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka got past fifth seed Ons Jabeur 7-5, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals for the second straight year. She faces Karolina Muchova, who advanced when Marie Bouzkova retired with a thigh injury.
In the men’s singles, top seed Carlos Alcaraz staved off an upset bid by Australian qualifier Max Purcell, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to earn a rematch with Hubert Hurkacz in the semi-finals.
“I didn’t know him so much before the match,” Alcaraz said of Purcell. “He impressed me a lot. It was really tough for me. I’m really happy to get through.”
In the nightcap on center court, No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic beat ninth-seeded American Taylor Fritz 6-0, 6-4 to book a semi against Germany’s Alexander Zverev, who defeated Adrian Mannarino of France 6-2, 6-3.
In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico defeated Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4 in the quarter-finals, but fell in the semi-finals on Friday, losing 2-6, 6-4, 10-5 against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez.
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