Iga Swiatek started slowly against Caroline Garcia at the 2023 China Open, but she wrestled control of the match away from their opponent to win it in three sets.
Swiatek and Garcia played some very interesting matches over the years. The Polish player dominated the matchup so far, but early in the first set, it was Garcia who kind of had the upper hand.
In reality, it was neither player because both dominated on their serves, and we actually didn't see a single break point. The tie-break was another close one; we saw 18 points played, and Garcia ultimately won it 10-8.
It was a set that could have gone either way, but it went the way of Garcia, who served spectacularly in that one (6 aces).
The second set was quite similar in that it ended in the tie-break, but it was actually quite different as Swiatek jumped out to an early lead, which became a double break lead 4-1, but Garcia was able to pull back all of that. The tie-break itself was another interesting sequence.
Swiatek again jumped out to a 4-0 lead but threw it away by allowing Garcia to battle back all the way to 5-5. The Polish player still won it 7-5, as she did have the upper hand in most of these rallies but complicated things for herself far too often.
After taking the second set though Swiatek completely outplayed her opponent to easily win the final set and it was hardly a surprise. Garcia is not the best in managing emotions on the court and it cost her dearly in this one.
The final score was 6-7(8) 7-6(5) 6-1 who moves on to the semi-final in hopes of securing a final. It's been a lack of good results lately for her, and this run is much-needed with the WTA Finals around the corner.