Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, and Jelena Ostapenko are the only other players to have made four or more WTA 1000 semifinals before turning 21.
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Polish tennis sensation Iga Swiatek recorded her 15th straight victory on Thursday when she beat Petra Kvitova in the quarter-final of the 2022 Miami Open. It was a straight-set victory for the 20-year-old with the scoreline reading 6-3, 6-3. It will be Swiatek’s fifth semi-final of the season and she has joined an elite list. The likes of Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, and Jelena Ostapenko are the only other players to have made four or more WTA 1000 semifinals before turning 21.
Swiatek has been unstoppable on her way to her first Miami semifinal. Swiatek has lost a total of 15 games in four matches since winning back-to-back titles in Doha and Indian Wells, and has not dropped more than three games in a set in Miami. Her victory over Kvitova was her 24th of the season, putting her in first place on the tour (24-3).
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“I want to use the confidence that I built since the beginning of Doha,” Swiatek said. “I think I’m on a roll and I want to use that. Having that kind of streak got pretty tricky, but I’m pretty glad that I could play well, that I’m healthy, and that I can compete against players like Petra. She’s a legend.”
After a strong start to the match, Kvitova’s service game gave Swiatek all she needed to take the first set. In the first set, Kvitova had 11 winners and 7 unforced errors to Swiatek’s 6 winners and 3 unforced errors, but Swiatek converted the only break point of the set. Kvitova misfired at 2-3 and fell behind 15-40, which Swiatek quickly converted to break. Swiatek cruised through her service games, winning in 37 minutes.
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Throughout the second set, Swiatek continued to put pressure on Kvitova’s serve. The Czech, who was playing in her 33rd WTA 1000 quarterfinal of her career, fought back to save four break points and hold a 2-1 lead. Swiatek, on the other hand, would break through two games later, on her fifth break point of the set, to take a 3-2 lead. Swiatek went on to win her eighth consecutive match against a left-handed opponent after grabbing her third and final break after 1 hour and 17 minutes.
Both players had a positive differential at the end of the match, with Kvitova hitting 19 winners and Swiatek hitting 8 winners and 7 unforced errors. Swiatek’s ability to break was the difference in the match, as Kvitova was unable to generate any break points.
