Australian Open: Emma Raducanu winner Iga Swiatek continues run in Melbourne to reach semi-finals | Tennis news
Iga Swiatek continued her run through the Australian Open draw with a quarter-final win over Emma Navarro.
The Pole’s 6-1 6-2 victory means she has lost just 14 games so far in five matches – a feat only bettered by Maria Sharapova, Monica Seles and Steffi Graf in the current format.
But there was controversy after umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore missed a double jump at a crucial moment in the fifth game of the second set.
Swiatek was under pressure for the first time in the game but won the game despite simply not being able to get to the short ball in time. Navarro protested but was denied a video review as she continued to play the point.
The eighth-seeded American did not win a single game, and Swiatek qualified for the second time in the semi-finals of Melbourne, where she will meet Madison Keys.
The five-time Grand Slam winner entered the clash with Navarro having spent just four hours and 30 minutes on court compared to 10 hours and 14 minutes for her opponent, who had gone three sets in each of her previous matches.
It didn’t take long for Swiatek to take control and the second seed will be a heavy favorite for her first Australian Open final.
Keys also achieved her best result here since reaching the semi-finals for the first time ten years ago.
The American made it 10 consecutive wins to start the season, coming off a losing streak against Elina Svitolina 3-6 6-3 6-4.
Svitolina’s steady play took her the first set, but Keys rattled off 37 winners in the second and third sets combined as she imposed her power game.
“It feels great,” said the 29-year-old, whose best Grand Slam run was the 2017 US Open final.
“I’m really, really proud of myself to be here in another semi-final and I’m hoping and looking forward to seeing if I can take it a step further.”
Swiatek expects a ‘tricky’ semi-final against Keys
Swiatek, who has a 4-1 career record against Keys, said of the semifinal match: “Madison is a great player and really experienced, so you never know. The match I lost, she kind of killed me, so I think that it can be tricky.”
Although rarely associated with defense, patience or even much of a Plan B, Keys said she would be careful not to be too aggressive against Swiatek.
“The biggest thing that makes her so hard to beat is that she moves so well, if you miss your spot just a little bit, she has enough time to recover and then the point is back in neutral,” she said.
“So there’s that balance between being aggressive and trying to get her to move and go for things, but not push too hard and not go for something too fast.
“So I think she just does such a good job of getting people to start asking a little too much too quickly.”
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