MELBOURNE, Australia — Iga Świątekhis last lopsided Australian Open victory came after a 6-1, 6-2 quarterfinal score against the No. 8 seed Emma Navarro on Wednesday.
Seeded number 2, Świątek not only did not drop a set in the tournament, but also lost a total of just 14 games as she sought her first title at Melbourne Park and her sixth Grand Slam trophy overall. She was the last woman to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open, losing fewer than 15 games Maria Sharapova in 2013.
“Overall, I’m very pleased with the tournament,” said Świątek, who will face number 19 Madison Keys USA on Thursday evening for a place in the final. “Being in the semi-final is great. I will keep pushing for more.”
Swiatek benefited from what appeared to be a missed double return after winning a point in the second set, but Navarro did not immediately ask for a video review. Either way, Świątek’s dominance was quite clear, even if it was modest later.
“Well, I think it was much harder than the score indicates,” said Świątek, a 23-year-old from Poland. “Emma is a fighter… and I wanted to stay focused and intense.”
The second women’s semifinal takes first place Aryna Sabalenkatwo-time defending champion, against one of her good friends, No. 11 Paul Bados.
Keys, whose best main draw performance was reaching the title match at the 2017 US Open, won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Elina Svitolina and advanced to the third semi-final in Australia.
“Madison is a great and experienced player, so you never know,” said Świątek, who is 4-1 against the 29-year-old Keys. “I will only focus on myself.”
Using a new racket this season, Keys is on a 10-game winning streak, including the title at the hard court tournament in Adelaide. Her path to the semi-finals in Melbourne included victories over two former Australian Open runners-up, Danielle Collins AND Elena Rybakina.
Keys’ previous defeats came in the semi-finals in Melbourne against the eventual champions Serena Williams in 2015 i Ashleigh Barty in 2022
“I think I’m definitely playing a little smarter… probably a little less fearless,” Keys said.
Svitolina, a three-time Slam semi-finalist, controlled the first set. However, Keys made tactical changes, including: he was looking for more opportunities to get to the net. Once she got going, she scored 23 of 26 points and had a total of 49 winners, including 23 on her powerful forehand.
The only difficulty Keys had was playing well in the return matches. Eventually, however, she used her seventh break chance and led 4-2 in the second set.
“Iga is difficult to beat because it has a lot of rotation, naturally, on both sides. Serves well. He bats well. He’s moving incredibly well,” Keys said, reflecting on Thursday. “The biggest thing that makes her so hard to beat is that she moves so well that if you miss your spot even a little bit, she has enough time to recover and then the point goes back to neutral point.”
