Iga Swiatek did what she needed to do by crushing Daria Kasatkina at the 2024 WTA Finals, but that didn't secure her the remaining semi-final spot.
Three out of four semi-final spots at the 2024 WTA Finals are already decided. Aryna Sabalenka took the first one in the Purple Group, and Coco Gauff quickly followed her in the Orange Group.
With the Purple Group now finished, Qinwen Zheng took the other semi-final spot in that group, meaning there is now only one semi-final spot left in the Orange Group.
While Gauff won both of her first two matches, that wasn't the case for Krejcikova and Swiatek, who were dependent on other results heading into the last round-robin day.
Krejcikova has the matter more in her hands because all she needs to do to advance is to beat Gauff. On the other hand, Swiatek's task was much more challenging than that.
She first needed to beat Daria Kasatkina, and she then also had to rely on Gauff to beat Krejcikova. But the Polish player was also a bit lucky, in a sense, as she played Kasatkina in her last match.
Jessica Pegula withdrew from the tournament after two round-robin matches, leaving Kasatkina in a difficult situation. She was the first alternate, and without any match played at the event, she had to play against an ultra-motivated Swiatek.
On top of that, the Russian player didn't really have anything to play for except for prize money and points. Sabalenka talked about a lack of motivation after her loss to Elena Rybakina on Wednesday, and that might have been the case for Kasatkina as well, as she couldn't advance from the group.
That certainly showed in this match, as Swiatek dominated from the first rally. She won her first service game to love and then immediately broke. She repeated that sequence, and in almost no time, the Pole led 5-0.
Kasatkina then won one game, making it 1-5 from her point of view, but the World No. 2 player had no issues with ending the first set in seven games, winning it 6-1.
Her charge didn't stop there. Swiatek was also perfect in the second set of the match. She won all six games, never giving Kasatkina an opportunity to change the outcome of the match, as the second seed won 6-1, 6-0.
That means the former World No. 1 will end the round-robin stage with two wins, but that still might not need to be enough to secure her a semi-final spot. If Krejcikova beats Gauff, Swiatek will be out even with two wins.
After the match, Swiatek was shown great support by her fans, who were chanting 'Iga' during her interview. She was obviously happy to have the support of Polish fans even so far away from Poland, showing her gratitude for the support.
"As usual. Thank you guys for the support. It means a lot. Any place I go I hear this. You guys give me extra energy to compete. Thank you for being with me."
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