World No.1 Iga Swiatek sends ominous Wimbledon warning, cruising to first grass semi-final
Days before the start of Wimbledon, Iga Swiatek has shown she's more than capable on grass, making it to the semi-finals of the Bad Homburg Open in Germany.
Swiatek, who has three Roland-Garros and a US Open title to her name, has never made it further than the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, as she battles form on grass.
But the world No.1 looked like she belonged in a straightforward 6-3, 6-2 win over Anna Blinkova.
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Swiatek broke Blinkova's serve to love three times. It was the Pole's 10th consecutive win, following on from her successful title defence at the Roland-Garros.
Iga Swiatek plays a backhand against Anna Blinkova. Photo: Joaquim Ferreira/dpa dpa/picture alliance via Getty I
"I wouldn’t even call myself close to being an expert on grass but I’m making progress," she said.
Standing between Swiatek and a first grass final is Lucia Bronzetti after the Italian won her quarterfinal match, 6-4, 6-3, against Varvara Gracheva, the Russia-born player who was playing her first tournament since switching allegiance to France.
The Bad Homburg Open is a warm-up for Wimbledon, where Swiatek's best result in three appearances was a fourth-round appearance in 2021. She was the junior Wimbledon champion in 2018.
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"Hopefully I’m going to be able to play like that for the next three weeks," Swiatek said.
Wimbledon main-draw play starts on Monday.
American player Emma Navarro faces either Liudmila Samsonova or Katerina Siniakova in the second semifinal match.
Navarro was losing 7-6 (2), 1-1 to Rebeka Masarova when Masarova retired after jarring her left knee while stretching for the ball. Their match had earlier been interrupted for a rain delay after just four points had been played in the first game.
"It's not a fun way to win a match and I feel very bad for (Masarova) and I wish her a speedy recovery," Navarro said.
Samsonova's match with Siniakova was suspended until Friday as the light faded before a deciding set could be played. Siniakova took the first set 7-5 and Samsonova the second 6-4.
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