World number one Iga Swiatek remains on course for a third consecutive Stuttgart title, after enduring more peaks and troughs than usual before finding her best level in the clutch moments late to oust 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu during their competitive quarter-final matchup.
Swiatek sends Raducanu out
Swiatek [1] bt. Raducanu 7-6, 6-3
- Swiatek vs. Rybakina and Vondrousova vs. Kostyuk set for Saturday’s Stuttgart (WTA 500) semifinals – plenty at stake for all four players
- Madrid Open (WTA 1000) begins on Monday, where today’s beaten quarterfinalist Sabalenka will look to successfully defend her title
- Swiatek’s compatriot Magda Linette vs. Anhelina Kalinina, Sloane Stephens vs. Caroline Garcia tomorrow in Rouen SFs (WTA 250)
IGA Swiatek wasn’t playing her best the whole way through, but it felt inevitable that after playing a near flawless first set tiebreak, she’d find her feet and progress into this weekend’s Stuttgart semis after a third pro H2H meeting with Emma Raducanu.
18 months apart in age with Swiatek the older, the pair first met as juniors in the Wimbledon quarterfinals six years ago – Iga dropped just one game (6-0, 6-1) and went onto win the tournament outright two days later.
That ruthless efficiency has translated to the paid ranks fairly quickly too but while she’s had more bagel sets (64) than tiebreaks (46) in her blossoming career to date, this meeting resembled the one they played on this same court two years ago.
It wasn’t always straightforward for the Pole, Raducanu began fiercely and played freely from the baseline with entertaining rallies aplenty in the early going to suggest a tricky challenge was forthcoming. Even a one-sided scoreline from their Indian Wells meeting last March doesn’t mask the fact they have competitive battles.
The 21-year-old Brit came into this contest riding a four-match win streak – her first since that unprecedented Flushing Meadows fortnight – and fond memories of sustained success at Swiatek’s expense despite no sets taken against the world no. 1.
Her forehand groundstroke, much like that of Britain’s current number one in Katie Boulter, is an effective weapon that can see her evade trouble during rally exchanges against most where neither player appears to have the upper hand.
Whether changing angles at a moment’s notice and forcing you out wide, hitting balls deep in court before subsequently mixing up the looks, all of those components helped find her footing early on against a Swiatek display packed with errors.
Raducanu gained strength from the visual, forcing errors and indecision from the Pole’s racket, though that feeling didn’t last long for her to fully capitalise and soon you could hear roars of jazda down the other end – an ominous sign brewing.
Even on the occasions where Raducanu had constructed good points together, the consistency in her work had waned and suddenly, she was fighting a losing battle as scoreboard pressure began to appear. Shot variety, particularly slices and drop shots, weren’t utilised to give the world number one different problems to solve either.
Couple that with Swiatek’s booming backhand strokes, line-kissing winners and her best Agnieszka Radwanska impression down on her haunches to retrieve low rally balls, the errors still flickered at times but were a more jarring sight at this stage.
The two-time champion had found her stride and Raducanu, who fought well to keep it close without fading away on serve, couldn’t step up another gear quickly enough to avoid a spirited defeat.
Okay, so what’s next?
The result means Swiatek’s still on course to become the tournament’s first three-peat champion since Maria Sharapova (2012-14) but Saturday is no easy task ahead.
She’ll play a familiar face – Elena Rybakina – in Saturday’s semifinal after the 2022 Wimbledon titlist won a deciding set tussle against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini (6-3, 5-7, 6-3) during the day’s opening quarterfinal duel on German clay.
Elsewhere, 2023 Wimbledon champ Marketa Vondrousova kept her nerve in tight moments to earn her first top-10 win since last summer’s grass-court Grand Slam with a three-set win over two-time Australian Open titleholder Aryna Sabalenka.
Despite needing an eyewatering eight match points to seal the deal, Marta Kostyuk recovered from a set down and eventually knocked out US Open titlist Coco Gauff in the evening’s final action, another near three-hour showdown after the Ukrainian logged three-set wins over Laura Siegemund and Qinwen Zheng in consecutive days.
While Monte-Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas saved two match points against Argentina’s Facundo Diaz Acosta en route to reaching the Barcelona semis elsewhere on Friday, most of the ATP circuit elsewhere was devoid of the same drama and unpredictability which has become commonplace within women’s tennis.
It’s currently unclear whether she’ll earn a wildcard entry into Madrid but injury-riddled Raducanu has risen 82 places after her performances this week to world no. 221, sandwiched between Bianca Andreescu and Ajla Tomljanovic – both talented players who’ve endured their fair share of injuries in recent seasons.
Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki and French giantkiller Alize Cornet are just three names currently sitting outside the world’s top 100 for various reasons, yet there is so much fluctuation at present that anyone can be beaten on a given day.
The same cannot be said with such confidence on the men’s tour, usually leading to a more exciting viewing experience for neutrals like this day’s play has reinforced.
Picture source: Getty Images
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