Almost three years ago Iga Swiatek said playing Naomi Osaka ‘inspired’ her to work harder and now the two will lock horns once again in the final of the Miami Open.
Swiatek, who will become the new world No.1 on Monday, continued her surge at the Miami Open on Thursday with yet another straight sets victory. In her quarter-final match the Pole moved past Jessica Pegula 6-2, 7-5, in what was a mixed encounter. Swiatek eased through the opening set but was given a stern test in the second where she was broken three times. After failing to serve the match out at 6-2, 5-4, she prevailed on her second opportunity two games later.
The victory takes Swiatek’s winning streak on the Tour to 16 straight matches. She is bidding to win her third title in a row after Doha and Indian Wells. Something which would make her join a select list of only a few players who have ever achieved the Sunshine double – winning Indian Wells and Miami in the same season.
Standing in her way of another trophy is Osaka who appears to have regained her form after a difficult past few months. The Japanese player is currently ranked 77th in the world and missing a chunk of the 2021 season due to personal reasons. In her quarter-final match Osaka came from a set down to beat Belinda Bencic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“I’m pretty glad that she’s doing better. I knew she was going to be back, it was just a matter of time because she’s a great tennis player,” Swiatek said of Osaka.
“My second match on WTA [Tour] – when I felt like I was breaking through – was against her and even though I lost, it really inspired me to work harder because she was No. 1 back then.
“Right now, I feel like I’m on a different level so I can actually compete. We’re going to see how it goes, I’m really excited.”
The two last locked horns on the Tour at the 2019 Canadian Open where Swiatek came through qualifying and defeated Caroline Wozniacki in what was one of the biggest wins of her career at the time. In the third round she fell in straight sets to Osaka.
“I remember we had really nice backhand crosscourt rallies. We kept each other really on the edge there. None of us missed basically,” Swiatek said of that meeting.
“I think it was like we were really solid on that side. I think she also mentioned that she was pretty surprised by that. I felt like I had nothing to lose. That was really freeing. It was a pretty good experience for me.”
Since then, Swiatek has climbed to the top of the women’s game which started with her triumph at the 2020 French Open. She has also won four additional titles with three of those being at a WTA 1000 event.
Looking ahead to the final the 20-year-old has vowed to approach it in the same way she has done with all of her other matches.
“I am excited for sure but on the other hand for me the most important job is this match like any other and I don’t want to change my routines,” she stated. “I don’t want to change my attitude because it’s been working out pretty well. I’m going to treat it like any other match.”
The women’s Miami Open final will take place on Saturday.
