Patience was needed during the tiebreak in the Montreal tennis semi-final. Because at 3:4 there was an unexpected disruption.
The players in the second set of the semi-final of the WTA tennis tournament in Montreal were in for a surprise. During the tiebreak at 6:6, music suddenly came from the speakers. The Rednex hit “Cotton Eye Joe” was played. The world number one Iga Swiatek looked astonished, her opponent Jessica Pegula hit the ball into the void.
The referee smirked briefly, shook her head slightly and called out: “Players, play the ball again”. Then she briefly mentioned the organisation, “Sound system, thank you.” Pegula could not score another point in the rest of the tiebreak, losing it 4:7.
In the end, Swiatek missed her fifth tournament win of the year on the WTA Tour. The 22-year-old Pole was beaten 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6 by Pegula and suffered her third defeat in her eighth match with the US player. Swiatek missed a 4:2 lead in the third set.
Pegula, after her triumph over the four-time Grand Slam winner, will meet the winner of the second semi-final between Kazakhstan’s Yelena Rybakina, 2022 Wimbledon winner, and Ludmilla Samsonova in the final.
Swiatek has won the titles at the French Open as well as in Stuttgart, Doha and Warsaw (in the final against Laura Siegemund) this year. The 22-year-old also reached the finals in Madrid and Dubai. She is the defending champion at the upcoming US Open.
