World No. 1 Iga Swiatek cruises into Madrid Open semifinals

Swiatek lost just eight points in a completely one-sided first set before one break of serve in the second set proved enough to send her into a fifth successive WTA Tour semifinal.

Playing the event for only the second time, Swiatek will take on Russian 12th seed Veronika Kudermetova on Thursday for a place in the final. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Iga Swiatek raced into the Madrid Open semi-finals on Wednesday with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Croatia’s Petra Martic in the last eight.

The world number one, playing the event for only the second time, will take on Russian 12th seed Veronika Kudermetova on Thursday for a place in the final.

Swiatek lost just eight points in a completely one-sided first set before one break of serve in the second set proved enough to send her into a fifth successive WTA Tour semifinal.

The Polish star has now won eight straight matches as she bids to hit top form in time for the start of her French Open title defence later this month.

“I feel like I’m playing better and better every day,” said Swiatek. “This is pretty great, because I didn’t know if that was going to be possible at the beginning of the tournament.”

Kudermetova ousted world number three Jessica Pegula 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 in a topsy-turvy clash. The 26-year-old beat the American five-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist to reach a WTA 1000 event semi-final for the first time, recovering after a collapse in the second.

It will be the 26-year-old’s third semi-final appearance of 2023 following Adelaide and Doha.