World number one Iga Świątek and Aryna Sabalenka took to the court in a second Semi-Final clash after the Tunisian Ons Jabeur, who had not had a particularly good start to the hard court season, stunned the French woman Garcia by winning convincingly in straight sets 6-1 6-3. By so doing, Jabeur has secured the world number 2 spot after the conclusion of the event.
Świątek opened serve to begin the match. Sabalenka soon showed signs of being the more aggressive player – with brilliant hands at the fore court; she got an all-important early break of serve and she ultimately won the opening set by 6 games to 3.
With all to do in the second set, Świątek also broke the Sabalenka serve early on to lead 2 love, but Sabalenka continued to compete well – she recorded her first game of the second set at 1-2, matching Świątek‘s intensity in parts. A determined Świątek would level the match after winning the second set 6-1.
Her first serve in that second set got her out of trouble as she registered 94% of first serves in play. Some of her other impressive numbers in that set was her winners to unforced errors count, being 10 to 7, compared to her opponent’s 6 and 15. She converted all 3 break points she had and Sabalenka did not have any opportunities to break.
Świątek went on to win the match 3-6 6-1 6-4 to book a spot in the Final against Jabeur.
