[BREAKING] Stuttgart: Swiatek will play for the final US Open rematch with Jabeur

World No. 1 and defending champion Iga Swiatek will play for a US Open final rematch with Ons Jabeur after he battled it out in Stuttgart on Friday.

Swiatek beat 2018 Stuttgart champion Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, while Tunisian world number four Jabeur cruised past Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 6-0.

Poland’s Swiatek had beaten Pliskova without dropping a game when they met on clay in the 2021 Rome final.

However, the Czech Republic took control immediately on Friday and raced to a 4-0 lead in just over a quarter of an hour.

Swiatek responded by sweeping the first four games of the second set to level the contest, and after trailing 2-1, he was untroubled.

Swiatek holds a 3-2 career lead over Jabeur, with their last meeting coming in the US Open final last year, when the Pole won in straight sets at the second major of 2022.

Maybe a good thing, Iga is not at the same level as last year, said Jabeur.

I think maybe the most important thing is to be unpredictable with Iga, not knowing what shots I’m going to make. I think it’s really good to disturb him a lot.

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka came from a set and semifinal to see off Spanish wild card Paula Badosa and reach the semifinals for the third consecutive year.

The Belarusian won 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 30 minutes and will next face Russia’s Anastasia Potapova, who ousted France’s Caroline Garcia 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

In a tight first set, Badosa saved three break points to get out and open up a 6-4, 4-2 lead before Sabalenka made it 4-4 and reeled off seven sets on the trot for a 3-0 lead. third set.

“I just talked to myself and said OK, try one more time, just try to put the ball back and then run and move and try to win this game and probably you can win this set,” said Sabalenka of the key eight. game in the second period.

So who knows what will happen in the third period? That game was definitely a key game.

In the decider, the pair exchanged serves with five breaks, but the 31st-ranked Badosa, who fell to Sabalenka in the semifinals in Stuttgart last year, paid for the series with a total of nine double faults.

Sabalenka sealed the victory in the second game with a backhand into the open court and nailed her 40th winner of the day.

The Australian Open champion is advancing to his fourth semifinal in six tournaments this year, and his overall record now stands at 22-3 going into 2023.

Sabalenka is aiming for her first Stuttgart title after two runner-up finishes in 2021 to Ashleigh Barty and in 2022 to Swiatek.

Potapova, ranked 24th, beat third seed Garcia in 2 hours and 12 minutes.

He fired 19 winners to Garcia’s 34, but also committed 42 unforced errors compared to 69 for his ranked opponents.

AFP

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