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Iga Swiatek and Caroline Garcia’s extraordinary display of tennis at the 2023 China Open, and the Pole coming back from behind to claim the three-set victory has amazed tennis fans.
Iga Swiatek locked horns with Caroline Garcia in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 event in Beijing on Friday, October 6. The barnburner of a contest lasted two hours and 35 minutes and saw the World No. 2 narrowly escape defeat. Garcia brought her A game, dishing out 46 winners and serving a staggering 16 aces throughout the contest.
It is worth noting that both competitors produced excellent serving stats, especially in the first set. They were unable to create a single break point opportunity in the set.
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However, it was the Frenchwoman who came out on top on her fourth set point in the tiebreak, despite Swiatek having a set point and being the better of the two in terms of the points won in the opener. Caroline Garcia took the lead with a score of 7-6(8).
In the second set, Swiatek had the chance to serve out to force a decider as she led by a break at 5-4. The four-time Major champion, however, could not capitalize on the opportunity as Caroline Garcia broke her to level the score 5-5.
Following the setback, Iga Swiatek found herself two points away from defeat twice, in the 12th game at 5-6 (15-30) and in the tiebreak at 6-6 (5-5). She eventually denied Garcia a straight-sets win and clinched the second set with a 7-6(5) scoreline.
The final set was a one-sided affair. The World No. 2 allowed the Frenchwoman just one game as she rushed to a 6-7(8), 7-6(5), 6-1 win.
Tennis fans on social media were amazed by Iga Swiatek and Caroline Garcia’s level of tennis in the opening two sets and lauded both of them.
“The best match of the season! GOAT LEVEL FROM IGA AND CAROLINE!” one fan exclaimed on X.
“Great win for Iga, she is getting tougher and tougher in tight situations,” another fan wrote, acknowledging the Pole’s recovery after a tough North American hardcourt swing.
Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:
Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff set up a semifinal thriller at the 2023 China Open
Iga Swiatek defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo, Varvara Gracheva, Magda Linette before seeing off Caroline Garcia in the quarterfinal of the WTA 1000 China Open.
The World No. 2 will now square off against World No. 3 Coco Gauff in a blockbuster semifinal on Saturday, October 7.
Gauff is through to the final four with wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova, Petra Martic, Veronika Kudermetova, and Maria Sakkari.
This will be the rivals’ ninth meeting on tour, and a fourth one this year. While the Pole obliterated Coco Gauff in the first seven meetings, their latest meeting at the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open went the way of eventual champion Gauff.
The winner of the two will face either Liudmila Samsonova, Aryna Sabalenka or Elena Rybakina in final on Sunday.
