Iga Swiatek will play in another Roland Garros final after beating Beatriz Haddad Maia, but she will also stay the World No. 1.
Multiple storylines unfolded at this year's Roland Garros, and one of them was also the fight for the World No. 1 spot. For the majority of the tournament, Aryna Sabalenka has been in the lead of the race for the top spot on the WTA Tour, but she lost in the semifinals and gave Swiatek a chance to secure the top spot.
For the Pole and Haddad Maia, it was already their second meeting on the WTA Tour, and surprisingly, it was the Brazilian coming into their second match with a victory behind her belt. But she had to fight in three sets in all of her previous four matches, and Swiatek was certainly coming into the match fresh.
But her opponent didn't want to wait around in her first major semifinal, and started with four quick points and break already in the first game. But since then, it was all about Swiatek in the first set of the match.
The top seed broke her opponent's serve three times, while losing only four more points on her serve for the remainder of the first set and after 40 minutes, she was able to take the opening set, 6-2.
But the real fight was just about to start in the second set of the match. Once again, Haddad Maia got the first break of the set, leading already 3-1 and thinking about another one.
Yet, Swiatek broke back and in the following two service games, she had to save four break points to force a tie-break against the Brazilian who was playing incredible and fearless tennis.
The Pole had to really increase her level in the tie-break, erasing a 5-3 lead of her opponent and even one set point to win the match 6-2, 7-6(7) after two hours and eleven minutes and reach her third Roland Garros final.
She'll play against surprising finalist Karolina Muchova in the final and according to her compatriot Agnieszka Radwanska, she should probably win the match as the Pole said that only Swiatek herself and Aryna Sabalenka are capable of beating her.
With the win, Swiatek also made sure that after the Roland Garros, she will stay atop of the WTA Rankings, extending her streak even further, as she secured enough points to be ahead of the Belarusian. The Pole was also very happy about her win, saying:
"It's tough to play such a long tournament, but I'm happy to play consistently and I'm looking forward to Saturday. She's using the fact that she's lefty and she has a nice game for clay-court, so for sure, it wasn't easy. And she's a fighter, so I knew that I had to be ready for every game."
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