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Beatriz Haddad Maia had made a comeback from a set down in her last two matches but Iga Swiatek stopped her on her tracks in their semi-final. The world no. 1 ended the run of the Brazilian 6-2, 7-6(7) after two hours and nine minutes of play.
The opening set went Swiatek’s way without much fuss although the 14th seed was the one who started off the proceedings with a break. It didn’t take long for Swiatek to get the break back and thereafter, Haddad Maia was able to win only one more game on her serve before the Pole ran away with the set, making it halfway to the final.
As in the first, it was once again Haddad Maia who got the break for herself in the second set, this time in the third game of the set. Although she was able to consolidate the break right away, a break back ensued in the sixth game after which the set remained on serve.
Swiatek did, however, face three more break points combined in the seventh and ninth games of the set. In the tie-break, too, the Brazilian held a set point at 6-5 but an unforced error erased it away. At 7-6, Swiatek brought up the first of the two match points but a winner from her opponent brought the tie-break on par.
A winner from Swiatek helped her get to her second match point at 8-7 while a second winner helped her close out the match, after clinching the tie-break, 9-7.
Roland Garros: Easy or hard, Iga Swiatek can win them all!
The second set was, by far, the toughest set Swiatek had had to play in all these days in Paris.
Going into the semi-final, the top seed had lost a total of 15 games in the five previous rounds. Swiatek finished with seven more winners to her left-handed rival’s 18. She also had one more unforced error to the latter’s 25.
This is the third time Iga Swiatek’s made it to the Roland Garros final. It’s also the second consecutive year she’s gone this far in the Major. The semi-final against Beatriz Haddad Maia also had enormous significance for her ranking as, if she’d lost the match, she would’ve also ceded her place at the top of the ranking to Aryna Sabalenka.
Meanwhile, Karolina Muchova, who beat Aryna Sabalenka in the first semi-final will be Swiatek’s last opponent here. Photo Credit: Iga Swiatek Twitter