Swiatek and Svitolina draw on experience and meet in Toronto semis
The Polish Iga Swiatek has qualified for the semifinals of the WTA 1000 in Toronto after overwhelming Diana Shnaider by 6-2 and 6-1, while the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina rose before Ekaterina Alexandrova to finally win 3-6, 6-0 and 6-3.
In just over an hour, Swiatek got rid of Shnaider and confirmed the good moment he is showing in the current tournament. It was a performance that has given former world number one Swiatek a lot of confidence ahead of the US Open, where she won one of her six Grand Slam titles in 2022.
The Pole clearly dominated a match conditioned by the wind and the Russian’s left-footed game, two factors to which, as she later explained, she managed to adapt quickly.
“I think I adapted well to the conditions. It was quite windy, probably the windiest match I’ve played during the entire tournament, so it wasn’t easy,” Swiatek said at a press conference.
This victory qualifies Swiatek for her first WTA 1000 semifinal in an irregular season in which she has failed to advance beyond the quarterfinals in any Grand Slam and suffered a surprising second-round defeat against her compatriot Magda Linette in Miami.
The former world number one wanted to highlight the changes introduced in her game since she started working with Francis Roig, especially greater patience when building points. “Last year I sometimes played a little too flat and too fast, making risky decisions. This is more like my game,” he explained.
Swiatek also assured that in Toronto he is managing to apply the work done with Roig more naturally and that he feels that he has already left behind “the most stressful part of the season.”
The Pole was also satisfied with her defensive ability against Shnaider. “I want to fight until the end of every point,” he said before adding that this attitude allowed his game to be more solid.
Svitolina comes out on top against Alexandrova
Much more complicated was Svitolina’s pass, which took one hour and 33 minutes to defeat Alexandrova. The Russian was unbeatable in the first set, resuming the rhythm after beating the world number one, Aryna Sabalenka, in the previous round.
However, the Ukrainian reacted strongly, tying the match in the second set and taking a 4-1 lead in the third by taking advantage of a rebound on the net and connecting with an unstoppable backhand to achieve another break of serve.
Svitolina dropped two games when she led 5-1, but recovered to break her rival’s serve and secure her place in the next round against Swiatek, whom she already defeated in her last two meetings this year in the quarterfinals of Indian Wells and the semifinals of Rome. However, head to head is still in favor of the Pole 4-3.
Swiatek, who said she felt especially comfortable back on hard courts, avoided raising her expectations despite reaching the semifinals. “It doesn’t change anything. It’s just a semi-final of a tournament,” he said. “I can keep expectations low, focus on myself, try to change some things I did wrong in previous games and fight.”
For her part, Svitolina assured that “I am going to talk to my team to make the necessary adjustments for the match against Iga. “Yes, she is a great champion. You will definitely do well on this circuit. I must become the best.”
