It wasn’t as quick as many expected, but it’s the result that counts. Iga Świątek prevailed in three sets of 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 against American Danielle Collins on Friday night.
The first racket in the world thus reached the semi-finals for the 9th time in 12 tournaments this year.
If this victory is not surprising, the time it took to win it is somewhat. This duel against the 48th in the world was not a long calm river for the current best player in the world.
Last time she faced Collins, in Doha last February, Świątek came out on top in two quick sets of 6-0, 6-1. This time, the American was much more tenacious. After all, she was coming to center court having knocked out Elina Svitolina, 8th seed Maria Sakkari and home favorite Leylah Fernandez over the past few days. All hopes were allowed.
After Collins managed to secure the second set, some wondered if Świątek’s run in Montreal could come to an end on that chilly Friday night in August. After all, at the same time in Toronto, Carlos Alcaraz was lowering his flag to Tommy Paul…
But the 22-year-old athlete had no doubts.
The young woman is not at the top for nothing. She “knew what [she] had to do.” Basically, it boiled down to “playing better tennis.” And that’s what she did; she increased the pace, played with more power and speed.
“I just played, and I made a few mistakes obviously, but I knew what I had to change,” she summed up.
In the first set, Świątek broke the American twice to quickly take a 5-1 lead. Her opponent managed to break in turn afterwards, but it was too little, too late.
After winning this set 6-3, Świątek put his towel around his neck, took his banana and his newspaper before leaving the court. She was back a few minutes later. But what was in that diary?, he was asked.
“It’s just to remind me of the key things that I focused on coming onto the court, to keep doing the things that worked. »
“During a game, many thoughts can arise,” she continued. I always want to start the same way when I win a set. »
Still, Collins had not said his last word… The 29-year-old athlete adapted his game in the second set and showed great things, standing up to Świątek. While leading 5-4, she fumbled three break points before finally winning the set.
This is also when the spectators began to be heard a little more. Because until then, let’s say we weren’t witnessing the most thrilling match in history.
Świątek smashed Collins twice in the third set to end the 2:23 min duel.
While Świątek met the media an hour after her victory, Collins did so immediately after leaving the field. Obviously, she was not beaming with her good humor. In almost every one of her responses, the 29-year-old recalled that “it’s hard to play against the best player in the world”, praising Świątek’s precision and tactics.
“When the game started to be a little less accessible for me, I think it was because I was more passive and Iga capitalized on that. She used her aggressive game to take the lead. »
Świątek will face 4th seed Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals on Saturday afternoon. The two players have already faced each other seven times in their career; Świątek has won five times. Regarding her next opponent, the Polish noted her consistency over the past few seasons.
“It sure won’t be easy, but I’m not going to tell you the tactics,” she said, smiling. I’m just going to say that I’m going to give my all and I hope it’s going to be a good game. »
For those who are worried about the energy level of the world number one, it is not worth it. “It’s still very high,” she said. […] In my life, I have never been in a situation where I had no energy after two long games. »
Take it for granted.
