‘My tennis is changing’ – Iga Swiatek prepares for Indian Wells meeting with Simona Halep

ByJames Hilsum

Published 17/03/2022 at 09:27 GMT

The Polish star Iga Swiatek focused more in detail on the match with Madison Keys, and stressed the aim was to get the job done as soon as possible after dropping the opening set of her last two matches. “I was getting tired a little bit, so I wanted to make it quick,” she added. “Madison played a great tournament. Her whole season is pretty great."

Iga Swiatek will be able to see how much she has improved when she takes on Simona Halep in the semi-finals at Indian Wells.

Swiatek cast Madison Keys of the US aside in her quarterfinal, 6-0, 6-1 in just 56 minutes, and is prepared for a huge battle on the court with the no.24 seed.

“She’s playing some good tennis right now,” said Swiatek of Halep in quotes published by bnpparibasopen.com.

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“She’s really consistent. I don’t know how many unforced errors she had, but probably less than 10. She’s in great shape. It’s going to be a tough match — it’s always like that against Simona. For me, it’s going to be a test. I can see how much I’ve improved, because I feel like my tennis is changing.”

The Polish star focused more in detail on the match with Keys, and stressed the aim was to get the job done as soon as possible after dropping the opening set of her last two matches.

“I was getting tired a little bit, so I wanted to make it quick,” she added.

“Madison played a great tournament. Her whole season is pretty great. I didn’t really know if I was going to be able to push back her speed, because she can play pretty fast. I wanted to stay low on my legs and control it a little more.”

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Meanwhile, Halep set up the clash with a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 win over Croatia’s Petra Martic, after the latter shocked Emma Raducanu in the third round.

Halep was in fine form and took just 24 minutes to win the opening set, landing 13 of her 14 first serves and winning all but one of those points. She has now managed a tour-best 13 wins in straight sets so far this year.

Simona Halep

Image credit: Eurosport

The Romanian also overcame Martic in the 2018 quarterfinal, winning 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3.

“I feel like I played my best tennis so far this year.” said Halep, who won the match in just 53 minutes.

“I knew it was going to be a tough match against her. The one in 2018 was a longer match and was much more difficult. But I felt great. I’ve been on a mission. I just wanted to be focused on what I had to do.

“When I entered the court, I said my return has to be strong because she has a huge serve with a kick,” said Halep. “At my height [5-foot-6], it’s not easy to return. But I did it pretty well today. I just practiced it a little bit more yesterday and this morning.”

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