Iga Swiatek has described her semi-final win at the WTA Finals on Sunday as both the toughest and nicest match she has played at the tournament so far.
The four-time Grand Slam champion rallied her way to a 6-3 6-2, win over top seed Aryna Sabalenka. Swiatek hit a total of 14 winners and capitalized on some erratic play from her rival who produced a costly 19 unforced errors. Overall, she broke Sabalenka three times and won 81% of her first service points.
“I’m really happy,” Swiatek said after the match. “I think it was the toughest and also the nicest match I’ve played here. I’m happy I could show you guys my game. It hasn’t been easy during the whole week so I’m happy that today I could get even better. Even though the score was 6-3, 6-2 every game was important and every point was important.”
It is the second time the Pole has beaten Sabalenka this season and she now leads their head-to-head 6-3. She has become the first player from her country to beat a world No.1 player at the WTA Finals (excluding retirements) since the WTA rankings were introduced in 1975.
Swiatek’s latest victory has moved her to the brink of reclaiming the year-end No.1 position. She will return to the top of the standings next week if she wins the title in Cancun. She has already recorded 67 wins on the Tour this season which is more than any other WTA player. It is the second year in a row that she has won 65 or more WTA matches which is something last achieved by Jelena Jankovic in 2007 and 2008.
“I feel like it’s still a long way away because I feel like tomorrow’s match will be the toughest one,” Swiatek replied when asked if she was thinking about the No.1 race. “We can talk about it tomorrow after the match. I’m just going to continue doing what I’ve been doing in [recent] days.
“I can’t truly tell you the keys for tomorrow. I’m going to work on that tonight.”
Standing in Swiatek’s way of the title in Jessica Pegula who has won five out of six matches played against top 10 players so far in 2023. Pegula beat Coco Gauff in her semi-final match which took place on Saturday.
The upcoming showdown will be the ninth meeting between both players with Swiatek winning five out of their previous matches. However, Pegula has won two out of the three matches they have played this year.
