Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: Iga Swiatek through after a false start - Ons Jabeur with gala
Defending champion Iga Swiatek (WTA No. 1) is again in the semi-finals of the 2023 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. She had to work hard against 2018 winner Karolina Pliskova and ended up winning 4: 6, 6: 1, 6: 2.
by Florian Goosman from Stuttgart
last edit:
Apr 21, 2023, 09:53 pm
You felt a bit reminded of Rome at the beginning - only the other way around: In the 2021 final Iga Swiatek had distributed the maximum penalty to Karolina Pliskova, 6: 0, 6: 0 won in the only encounter between the two on the tour so far.
This time Pliskova sped away, making it 4-0 quickly, a mix of a nervous start for Swiatek and a great start from Pliskova. But then the Pole came into play, caught up and was actually the better player at the end of the first set - even if Pliskova saved a break to set the lead.
Set 2 then quickly went to Swiatek, who also led early in the third set with a break. But Pliskova fought and both offered spectacular, long rallies at high speed - Pliskova with her flat game, Swiatek, who aimed at the angles with the duration of the rallies. Pliskova tormented Swiatek for a few more games without being able to equalize again.
"I felt better in the first set, I was two breaks behind. But then I played better," Swiatek judged.
Ons Jabeur with brilliant performance
Swiatek now meets Ons Jabeur, who previously gave a gala performance against Beatriz Haddad Maia - 6: 3, 6: 0, so the result. As a reminder: Jabeur was already 1: 6, 3: 5 behind against Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday, but then celebrated a comeback win.
"She uses different abilities than other players, also with her trick shots," said Swiatek, looking back on Saturday's semifinals.
The schedule for Saturday
It starts at 2 p.m. with the match between Aryna Sabalenka and Anastasia Potapova, who surprisingly won against Caroline Garcia (4: 6, 6: 3, 6: 3). From 4 p.m. it’s then: Swiatek against Jabeur.
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