– I don’t have good statistics when it comes to returning after losing the first set. This kind of matches give me a lot of confidence in the future, because it is very difficult to stop my opponent in such a situation – admitted Iga Świątek on Monday after winning over Sorana Cirstea.
It improves the balance sheet
Before the Australian Open, the balance of matches in which she lost the first set was 8-24. Today he is better: 10-24. The Polish first defeated Romania Cirstea 5: 7, 6: 3, 6: 3 in the fourth round, to eliminate on Wednesday in the quarter-finals
In the previous season, our tennis player won only three times after losing in the opening game: with Kaja Juvan in Melbourne, with Barbara Krejcikova in Rome and with Fiona Ferra during the US Open. At the Australian Open 2022, he already has two wins under these circumstances. It is a great achievement in the Grand Slam!
The more that the quarter-final rival of the Polish woman is a very experienced competitor. As Adam Romer from the “Tenisklub” magazine noticed, 36-year-old Kanepi won her first tournament when Iga Świątek was not yet in the world (2000, and Świątek was born in 2001). The Estonian is now 115th in the world, but in this year’s tournament She presented herself excellently in Melbourne, eliminating the runner-up Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round, and for the seventh time in her career she played in the Grand Slam quarter-finals.
“Kilerka faworytek”
Kaia Kanepi is called the “killer of favorites” in the tennis community. As calculated by the WTA Insider portal, the Estonian has as many as ten victories in the Grand Slam over the players from the top 10 of the WTA ranking. Only Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters and Garbine Muguruza have more such wins “Whenever there was a draw, especially in the Grand Slam, I looked where Kaia Kanepi was. I really hoped to avoid meeting her,” former Italian tennis player Roberta Vinci, finalist of the 2015 US Open, told Eurosport before the game.
And although Świątek was the favorite in the quarter-finals, not only because of her place in the ranking (9th WTA), she had to be very careful with the Estonian woman. Kanepi confirmed all her strengths and imperfections during the meeting with the Polish woman. The service and forehand helped her a lot – at times even stronger than a pass (more than once at a speed of 145 km / h, which is rare in women’s competitions). The Estonian played strong, flat and looked for the quickest solutions. She felt that she might not be able to endure a long meeting. She was right.
She won despite her own problems
When Iga Świątek did not go well in the first set and at the beginning of the second game, she changed her tactics and started scattering her rival more often on the court. This plan worked out, after the tie-break ending the second set, Kanepi’s face was very tired and slightly discouraged. Forcing a 36-year-old Estonian woman to run vigorously, with a strong body, over 180 cm tall and in 37 degrees heat, was a great idea. This is how the Polish woman knocked the victory out of her head.
The heat also took its toll on Świątek. However, the Polish woman’s condition endured this meeting much better. And she showed psychological strength again. She kept the opponent better disposed in the first set, she won despite her own weaknesses. Swiatek recorded in the quarter-finals as many as 50 unforced errors with 31 final matches (Kanepi 62-35). She was counted as many as 12 double service errors, exceptionally many for our tennis player.
It wasn’t the most beautiful game in women’s tennis history, but it doesn’t matter at this stage of the tournament. Only one thing matters: on Thursday Iga Świątek will play for the first time in his career in the Australian Open semi-finals. Now the most important thing is to regenerate before the duel with Danielle Collins. The Polish woman has good memories of the only meeting with the American. A year ago, she beat her on her way to triumph in the WTA tournament in Adelaide.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
