French Open Highlights: Swiatek vs Maia LIVE – World No.1 Iga Swiatek reached her second successive final at the Roland Garros. The defending champion ended Beatriz Haddad Maia;s dream run with a 6-2, 7-6 win in the semifinal at the French Open on Thursday, 8th May 2023. The two-time champion at Roland Garros will meet Karolina Muchova in the final on Saturday.
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Swiatek’s win, coupled with Sabalenka’s defeat, also ensured that the Pole will retain the No.1 ranking after Roland Garros concludes, whatever the result against Muchova.
“I’m just pretty happy to be in the final again,” Swiatek said afterwards. “It was a tough match, and especially second set, every point counted. It was stressful in some moments, so I’m happy that I was really solid and I was able to close it in the tiebreaker. It wasn’t easy, and Beatriz really played well. I’m just happy.”
Haddad Maia, who beat Swiatek in three sets on hard courts last summer in Toronto, was ahead 5-3 in the tiebreak and had a chance to extend the match at 6-5, but missed a forehand in the net at that juncture.
The Brazilian, who won from a set down in the fourth round and quarterfinals to become the first woman from her country to reach the Roland Garros semifinals, had previously led 3-1 in the second set, and also had three break points against Swiatek’s serve at 4-4.
After turning around an 0-1 head-to-head against Haddad Maia, Swiatek will seek to do it against against Muchova. The Czech won their only prior meeting — 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in Prague, four years ago
French Open LIVE: Iga Swiatek aims to continue dominance, faces Beatriz Haddad Maia in semifinal