Polish teenager Swiatek powers into French Open semis

Thursday, 8 October 2020 00:27 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Iga Swiatek in action - Reuters

PARIS (Reuters): Polish teenager Iga Swiatek recovered from a nervy start to outclass Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan 6-3 6-1 and move into the French Open semi-finals on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old, who thrashed Romania’s top seed Simona Halep on Sunday to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final, looked tight as she trailed 3-1 after a long wait to get on court but then took charge with some aggressive hitting.

She is the first Polish woman to reach the French Open semi-finals since Jadwiga Jedrzejowska was runner-up in 1939.

Former Wimbledon junior champion Swiatek won eight games in a row to move within three games of victory before tricky left-hander Trevisan stopped the rot with a break of serve.

However, a crushing forehand winner by Swiatek in the following game resumed the onslaught and she romped to her fifth straight-sets victory in a row on the Paris clay. Swiatek has a free-flowing game but initially it was 159th-ranked Trevisan, who knocked out American sensation Coco Gauff, 20th seed Maria Sakkari and fifth seed Kiki Bertens on her run to the last eight, who settled quickest.

Had Trevisan won she would have set up an unlikely semi-final against Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska which would have guaranteed a qualifier reaching a Grand Slam final for the first time in the professional era.

Swiatek is also through to the doubles quarter-finals with American partner Nicole Melichar.