In her last match, a 6-3, 6-3 win over Zheng Qinwen, Swiatek avenged a defeat from last year’s Olympics. Afterward, she admitted that getting payback is part of the motivation.
“It’s not nice to lose to anybody, so for sure you want to have a little, I don’t know, like revenge, but it’s nothing personal,” she said.
You can add that to the list of reasons why Swiatek will be especially fired up for this semifinal. Andreeva not only beat her in their last meeting, but as a semifinalist in Paris last year, she’s a threat to Iga’s Roland Garros crown. Expect Swiatek to come out looking to move the 5-foot-9 Andreeva into the corners, take advantage of that defensive slice forehand she sends back, and close with more conviction than she did in Dubai.
As for Andreeva, she sounds like someone who will be swinging freely, and won’t be surprised if things go differently than they did last time.
“Tomorrow is going to be a new day, new match, new conditions, new country. Everything is different,” she said. “I’m sure that the match is going to be great, because our head-to-head is 1-all. I think it’s going to be an entertaining match, and we’re just going to see who is going to be better tomorrow.” Winner: Swiatek—Steve Tignor
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