Iga Swiatek continued her romp through the Australian Open draw with a quarter-final victory over Emma Navarro.
The Pole’s 6-1 6-2 win means she has dropped just 14 games so far in five matches – a feat bettered under the current format by only Maria Sharapova, Monica Seles and Steffi Graf.
But there was controversy after umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore did not spot a double bounce at a crucial moment in the fifth game of the second set.
Swiatek was under pressure for the first time in the match but won the game despite just failing to get to a short ball in time. Navarro protested but was denied a video review because she carried on playing the point.
The American eighth seed did not win another game, with Swiatek moving through to the semi-finals in Melbourne for the second time, where she will face Madison Keys.
The five-time Grand Slam champion went into 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 come through three-set battles in each of her previous matches.
It did not take long for Swiatek to seize control, and the second seed will be a strong favourite to reach her first Australian Open final.
Keys has also matched her best result here having first made the semi-finals a decade ago.
The American made it 10 victories in a row to start the season, coming from a set down to defeat Elina Svitolina 3-6 6-3 6-4.
Svitolina’s steady play earned her the opening set but Keys struck 37 winners in sets two and three combined as she imposed her powerful game.
“It feels great,” said the 29-year-old, whose best grand slam run was a US Open final appearance in 2017.
“I’m really, really proud of myself to be in another semi-final here and hoping and looking forward to seeing if I can make it one step further.”
Swiatek expecting ‘tricky’ semi-final against Keys
Swiatek, who owns a 4-1 career record against Keys, said of the semi-final matchup, “Madison is a great player and really experienced, so you never know. The match that I lost, she kind of killed me, so I think it can be tricky.”
While rarely associated with defence, patience or even much of a Plan B, Keys said she would be wary about being too aggressive against Swiatek.
“The biggest thing that makes her so difficult to beat is because since she moves so well, if you miss your spot just slightly, she has enough time to recover, and then the point goes back to neutral,” she said.
“So then there’s just such a balance of being aggressive and trying to get her to move and going for things, but not pressing too hard and not going for anything too quickly.
“So I think she just does such a good job at making people start going for a little bit too much too quickly.”
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Source : Sky Sports
