The second half of the 2023 season has not been good so far for Iga Swiatek, losing the world No. 1 spot to Aryna Sabalenka and also failing to defend her US Open crown. In fact, since winning the Poland Open at the end of July, the four-time Grand Slam winner has lost four matches, including a round-of-16 defeat to Jelena Otapenko at the US Open.
But the tide seems to be changing for Iga Swiatek in Beijing, as she defeated Caroline Garcia 6-7 (8-10), 7-6 (7-5), and 6-1 to secure a place in the semifinals of the China Open
Iga Swiatek gives Tennis fans a message at China Open
World No. 2 Iga Swiatek advanced to the semifinals of the China Open after defeating No. 10 Caroline Garcia 6-7(8), 7-6(5), 6-1 in the quarterfinals on Friday. Iga Swiatek is making her tournament debut in Beijing and has advanced to her 11th semifinal of the season and 11th WTA 1000 semifinal of her career.
The Beijing championship is Iga Swiatek’s sixth hard-court WTA-1000 semifinal of 2023, equaling Serena Williams (2013) and Simona Halep (2015) for the most hard-court WTA-1000 semifinals in a single season. Swiatek also made the semifinals or better in Dubai, Indian Wells, Montreal, and Cincinnati.
Iga Swiatek said to the crowd after beating Caroline Garcia in Beijing, “Please come to our matches. We still have a lot of empty seats. Let’s try to fill them out. We’ll do our best to give the best show possible. Thank you for watching. Thank you for all the support all week.”
Iga Swiatek has maintained an unbeaten record of 7-0 in hard-court quarterfinals. She is the second player since the format was introduced in 2009 to win her first seven WTA-1000 quarterfinals on this surface after Ashleigh Barty.
Iga Swiatek beats Caroline Garcia to reach the China Open semifinals
Iga Swiatek defeated World No. 5 Caroline Garcia 6-7(8) 7-6(5) 6-1 in Beijing. Swiatek was 2 points away from losing this match but being world #1 for 75 consecutive weeks proved to be effective as she showed strength and power.
Caroline Garcia served at 71 percent of her first serves, won 80 percent of her first serve points, and won 75 percent of her second serve points. Iga Swiatek kept pace, serving at 80 percent and winning 89 percent of her first serve points and 86 percent of her second serve points.
With no breakpoints through the first 12 games, Garcia and Swiatek headed to a tiebreak. Garcia rode her strong serving day through the tiebreak to lead 5-2, before two key passing shots from Swiatek leveled the score to 6-6. Swiatek took the lead by besting Garcia in a baseline rally for 7-6.
Swiatek struck back early in the second set, generating the first break point of the match and breaking for a 2-1 lead. She extended that lead to 4-1 before Garcia stormed back. With Swiatek serving for the set at 5-4, Garcia broke at 15-40 with a perfect backhand return down the line.
Iga Swiatek faces Coco Gauf in the Beijing Semifinals. Two of the most athletic players tennis has seen in years, Iga leads the head-to-head 7-1.
