Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
A rampaging Iga Swiatek stormed into her second Australian Open semi-final with a 6-1 6-2 centre court demolition of eighth seed Emma Navarro on Wednesday as the world number two underlined her title credentials once again at Melbourne Park.
The quarter-final passed with a note of controversy, though, with Swiatek scooping up a drop shot that looked perilously close to a double-bounce in the fifth game of the second set, which proved a hammer blow for Navarro.
A throbbing ball of energy from the first point to the last, Swiatek’s win at a sundrenched Rod Laver Arena set up another American match-up with Madison Keys, who overhauled Elina Svitolina 3-6 6-3 6-4 in the earlier quarter-final.
“I think it was much more tougher than the score shows,” Swiatek said on court.
The Pole has a 4-1 record against her next opponent Keys but expected a tough test against the American.
“Madison is a great player and really experienced, so you never know. The match that I lost, she kind of killed me, so I think it can be tricky,” she added.
After beating Ukrainian Svitolina, Keys had said she looked forward to cheering on Navarro as her compatriot took on the five-times Grand Slam champion.
But she was left to ponder the scale of her task as she looks to secure her first Grand Slam final since the 2017 U.S. Open.
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