Iga Swiatek had some minor trouble against Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova at the 2023 Cincinnati Masters, but she got it done in two sets.
While a year ago she might have surprised many with her level, this year, Marketa Vondrousova is a known commodity, at least as of Wimbledon, where she produced one of the best efforts of her career to win the event. Ranked inside the Top 10 on the WTA Tour and a Grand Slam champion, the Czech is not flying under anybody's radar anymore.
Even so, Swiatek had some minor problems with her. Struggling with control once more, Swiatek hit the ball a few times too wide at the start of the match. Vondrousova held an early break for a good amount, but she crumbled when it was time to serve it out.
Many assumed the momentum change would be enough for Swiatek to jump ahead, but it wasn't. She lost her serve again to give Vondrousova a chance to serve it out again. She didn't, and we saw a tiebreak, one where the Polish player proved better.
The first set was quite familiar, similar to many sets we saw from Swiatek. She struggled with control, hit many balls wide but still was good enough to brute force her way to win the set. Vondrousova wasn't playing nearly as well as she did at the start and that contributed of course.
The second set opened with an early break for Swiatek, and things slowly settled in place. Vondrousova was increasingly frustrated, while Swiatek maintained pressure in most rallies. She was just a lot more precise with her shots, using it to secure a double-break lead which was enough.
The final score was 7-6(3) 6-1 as she moved on to the semi-final, where she will play either Coco Gauff or Jasmine Paolini. That match is coming up later today.
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