Melbourne – A good 15 months after her French Open title, Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek has a chance to reach her second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open.
The top ten player ended Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi’s surprising winning streak with a hard-fought 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 victory in the Melbourne quarter-finals. After 3:01 hours Swiatek converted her second match point and entered the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time.
“This match was crazy,” Swiatek said after the duel with a few twists and turns: “She played so great.” In 2020, the Pole had stunned and made a name for herself as a teenager by securing the French Open title completely unexpectedly. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the French Open had been moved to autumn at the time.
Against Kanepi, the 20-year-old kept her nerve even after trailing the set and initially missing a 4:1 lead in the second set. Despite a partly unsteady serve and twelve double faults, she prevailed. The world No. 115 Kanepi had knocked Angelique Kerber out of the tournament a week ago in Melbourne and spoiled the Kieler’s 34th birthday.
Swiatek in the semi-finals against Collins
Swiatek will now play US’s Danielle Collins on Thursday to reach the final. Collins repeated her best-ever Grand Slam result of 2019 when she also reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open. She defeated unseeded Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet 7-5, 6-1 in the surprise quarter-final and first match of this tournament day. Cornet reached the round of the best eight for the first time at her 63rd Grand Slam tournament.
It is also a special achievement for Collins because of health problems last year. “It feels amazing, especially after the health challenges I’ve had,” said the world No. 30. Two years ago, she dispatched Kerber in the last 16 in Melbourne but missed the final with a loss to Czech Petra Kvitova in the semi-finals.
This time, the 28-year-old became the second American to advance to the final round after Madison Keys. Keys, the 2017 US Open finalist, will battle Australian world number one Ashleigh Barty for a place in the final on Thursday (09.30 German time/Eurosport).
