Iga Swiatek powers past Emma Raducanu to make Stuttgart Open semi-finals with 21st win on the bounce
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ByEurosport
Updated 22/04/2022 at 22:02 GMT
Iga Swiatek underlined her status as the game's form player as she beat Emma Raducanu 6-4 6-4 in the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open. World No. 1 Swiatek beat Eva Lys 6-1- 6-1 on Thursday - her 20th win on the spin - and produced a performance of merciless baseline hitting to overpower US Open winner Raducanu. Stream the 2022 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+
'It's hard work' - Swiatek on 21-match winning run after win over Raducanu
Iga Swiatek beat Emma Raducanu 6-4 6-4 at the quarter-final stage of the Stuttgart Open.
The match represented Raducanu's first against a top 10 performer, and she gave an impressive account of herself against the game's pre-eminent women's player, but, ultimately, Swiatek underlined her status as the favourite for the French Open with a performance of ruthless hitting.
World No. 1 Swiatek beat Eva Lys 6-1 6-1 on Thursday - her 20th win on the spin - and had the US Open winner Raducanu on the back foot from the off with her power from the baseline. The Polish star crafted an early break opportunity, and a stray backhand from the British No. 1 gave Swiatek an instant advantage.
The 20-year-old Swiatek had lost serve just six times in her last nine outings, and while Raducanu managed to stay with the Polish star for the rest of the set, she failed to exert any pressure on her serve, And, thus, Swiatek extended her run of sets won on the bounce to 27.
If the 19-year-old Raducanu wanted to extend her winning run in Stuttgart, she would have to win in three, but the writing looked to be on the wall when she conceded serve in the opening game of the second set. However, remarkably, given Swiatek's prior comfort on serve, Raducanu broke to love.
Yet, merciless baseline hitting from Swiatek fashioned another two break opportunities, the second of which saw Raducanu go long to re-establish the advantage for the world No. 1. The Brit called the trainer at the changeover to treat a hamstring issue, and would leave the court for a medical timeout.
Raducanu returned reinvigorated and applied pressure to the Swiatek serve - most notably in the eighth and 10th games where she fashioned two break points in each - but the Polish star's ruthless hitting kept the Brit at arm's length, and she would progress to the semi-finals - taking the match at the second opportunity.
She will face Liudmila Samsonova who beat Laura Siegemund earlier on Friday, with Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa contesting the other semi-final.
The win means that Swiatek has now won 21 matches on the bounce as she gears up for the French Open, which begins on May 22. The 20-year-old has some way to go before threatening the current record holder, Martina Navratilova, who put together 74 wins on the spin in 1984, but is the firm favourite for the second Grand Slam of the year.
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