Iga Swiatek recorded her first three-set win since October 2022 when she advanced to the 2023 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix semifinals.
The young Pole got used to winning in two sets, and when she didn't find her A-game, it was usually a two-set loss for Swiatek. Her last three-set win came against Donna Vekic last October. Now, she played in the 2023 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix quarterfinals as Karolina Pliskova proved to be a very difficult opponent for the world no. 1.
The Czech player certainly forgot their only head-to-head meeting on the WTA Tour. The match was played in May 2021 and it was the Italian Open final in Rome. However, it wasn't a usual final as Swiatek destroyed her opponent 6-0, 6-0.
This time it was a very different story. Pliskova won the very first game of the match and made sure that we won't see the same result as a couple of years ago in the Italian capital. But the former world no. 1 didn't want to end just by winning one game and getting one break.
She kept the same kind of intensity throughout the set and quickly built a 4-0 lead against the Polish opponent. But Swiatek was able to get one break back and she was close to getting another break point in the tenth game of the opening set when Pliskova was trying to serve it out. In the end, the Czech player managed to do that and won the first set 6-4.
Yet, Swiatek was ready to show that she didn't forget how to win in three sets. The Pole had same kind of start into the second set as her opponent did in the first set, as she built a 4-0 lead. But Swiatek didn't lose a big part of it as the Czech and won the second set 6-1 to take the match into a decider.
The fourth game was crucial in the third set. After Swiatek broke in the third game, Pliskova had multiple opportunities to break back in the longest game of the match, but she couldn't use her chances. On the other hand, Swiatek added one more break and after two hours and three minutes, she won the match 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Her title defence in Stuttgart is still on course as she's now set to meet Ons Jabeur, who lost in the quarterfinals last year. It's going to be a match between the first and third-seeded player and it promises to be a spectacle.
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