Iga Swiatek continued her run during the Australian Open draw with a quarter-final win over Emma Navarro.
The Polish player’s 6-1, 6-2 victory means that she has lost only 14 matches so far in five matches, an achievement that has only been bettered in the current system by Maria Sharapova, Monica Seles and Steffi Graf.
But there was controversy after referee Eva Aderaki-Moore did not spot a double bounce at a crucial moment in the fifth game of the second set.
Swiatek came under pressure for the first time in the match but won the match despite failing to get to a short ball in time. Navarro protested but was prevented from reviewing the video because she continued to play the point.
The eighth-seeded American did not win any other match, as Swiatek qualified for the semi-finals in Melbourne for the second time, where she will face Madison keys.
The five-time Grand Slam champion entered the confrontation with Navarro after spending only four hours and 30 minutes on court, compared to 10 hours and 14 minutes for her opponent, who played three sets in each of her previous matches.
It did not take long for Swiatek to take control, and the second seed will be a strong favorite to reach her first Australian Open final.
Keys also achieved her best result here after reaching the semi-finals for the first time a decade ago.
The American player achieved ten consecutive victories at the beginning of the season and came back from a set down to defeat Elina Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Svitolina’s consistent performance gave her the first set, but Keys achieved 37 successful hits in the second and third sets combined to impose her strong style.
“It feels amazing,” said the 29-year-old, whose best Grand Slam result was an appearance in the US Open final in 2017.
“I’m really very proud of myself for making it to the semi-finals again here and I’m hoping and looking forward to seeing if I can take another step forward.”
Swiatek expects a “difficult” semi-final against Keys
“Madison is a great player with a lot of experience, so you never know,” Swiatek, who has a career record of 4-1 against the Keys, said of the semifinal match. “The game she lost, it kind of killed me, so I think it might be tough.” “
Although she is rarely associated with defense, patience, or even a Plan B, Keys said she would be careful about being too aggressive against Swiatek.
“The biggest thing that makes it so hard to beat is that it moves so well, and if you miss your spot a little bit, it has enough time to recover, and then the point goes back to neutral,” she said.
“So, there’s a balance between being aggressive and trying to get her to move and get things going, but not pushing too hard and not doing anything too quickly.
“So I think it does a good job of getting people to start doing too much too quickly.”
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