Iga Swiatek, the world No. 1, upset Liudmila Samsonova 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5 in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix quarterfinals to reach her fourth Hologic WTA Tour singles final of the season.
Swiatek has now won 22 consecutive matches, including a thrashing of World No.31 Samsonova in a three-hour and three-minute battle. Swiatek has a 29-3 win-loss record that season, which puts her in first place in match wins for 2022. You can check out OKBET for some updates.
Swiatek’s put to the test in Sunday’s final against No. 3 seed Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka, the runner-up in the 2021 Stuttgart Open, defeated No. 2 seed Paula Badosa in an earlier quarterfinal on Saturday.
Swiatek’s incredible run — which includes three consecutive WTA 1000 championships in Doha, Indian Wells, and Miami — came close to Samsonova’s scorching power play.
With a tiebreak victory at the end of the 71-minute opening frame, Samsonova broke Swiatek’s 28-set winning run. Swiatek won the marathon after Samsonova came back from a breakdown in the third set twice.
Swiatek commented afterward, “It was very tough, and it felt like a marathon.” “There were a lot of ups and downs, and I had to stay focused and find solutions… I knew Liudmila played fantastic tennis, and I could feel it on my racquet, so all credit to her.”
Swiatek had a slightly better return percentage than Samsonova on both first and second serves, which enabled the Polish star to squeak by with an extra break in each final two sets. Swiatek had a 5-for-15 breakpoint percentage, while Samsonova had a 3-for-8 mark.
Despite the setback, Samsonova had another successful week in Germany.
As a 106th-ranked qualifier, Samsonova won her maiden singles title in Berlin last year, and her upset with Karolina Pliskova just two days ago gave her her first career Top 10 triumph.
Swiatek’s 4-1 advantage first set was quickly run-through against her formidable opponent. Samsonova saved four breakpoints for a 4-4 tiebreak hold, and she rapidly led 5-2 in the tiebreak with superb serve. Samsonova handed her first loss set in over a month after two more unreturned serves from 5-4 in the breaker.
For much of the second set, top seed Swiateks’ cannot break Samsonova, but at 4-4, a magnificent deep return earned the World No. 1 the lone break of the set. Swiatek served the stand at love, and the match ended in a tie.
Led 3-1 in the third set, but Samsonova rallied for a 4-3 advantage. Swiatek came through with a late break, forcing Samsonova to make errors and moving the score to 6-5. Swiatek finishes the match quickly, securing the win by a hair’s breadth. You can bet on OKBET for the games.
World No.4 Sabalenka anticipates in the last: Swiatek and Sabalenka have divided their two past gatherings. Sabalenka won in three sets in the final year’s Akron WTA Finals. However, Swiatek vindicated that misfortune in straight sets on the way to her 2022 Doha title.
“Aryna is a phenomenal player, as everybody knows,” Swiatek expressed. “I must be geared up for whatever might happen and zero in on myself, be forceful, and be strong. We’ll see; I trust it’ll be a phenomenal match.”
