What is the controversy in Iga Swiatek's Australian Open QF win? All you need to know about the umpire's costly miss & criticism from tennis world

Iga Swiatek, the world No. 1 and five-time Grand Slam champion from Poland, is having a great time at the ongoing Australian Open. The 23-year-old thrashed Emma Navarro 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinal to book a place in the last four and will take on Madison Keys in the semifinal on Thursday, January 23.

However, as dominant as the Pole has been, her victory over Navarro was marred by an erroneous call by the umpire. At 2-2 in the second set, Navarro was on game point on her serve and played a drop shot, which seemed pretty certain to win her the point and the game.

However, Swiatek managed to just about get to the ball and played it back to Navarro. The umpire did not rule the point in Navarro's favor despite the fact that the ball bounced twice before Swiatek's racquet touched it.

The video camera later confirmed the double bounce, but that did not stop Swiatek from winning the game and later the set and the match.

The tennis world reacted after Navarro lost the match to Iga Swiatek:

The tennis fraternity made its stance clear about the issue, as Navarro briefly questioned the umpire but did not take a review, which could have earned her the disputed point.

Swiatek, given the kind of form she is in, probably would have won the match regardless of any such controversy. However, Navarro ran her close in the first five games of the second set, including earning a break point. Had she been able to win the fifth game, she might have been able to stretch the Pole a little bit more.

Mary Jo Fernandez, a former tennis player and now a commentator for ESPN, said in this regard,

"Emma tested her that second set, she pushed her"

Swiatek herself acknowledged the fact after the match and said in her post-match interview,

"I think it was much more tougher than the score says, Emma's a fighter, so I knew she's not gonna pull back. I wanted to stay focused to the end and keep my intensity"

Still, luck was not on Navarro's side on the day, as she had to be on the receiving end of that controversial decision at a crucial juncture.

Meanwhile, Swiatek, who is eyeing her maiden Australian Open title this year, has dropped only 14 games in five matches in the tournament so far. It will take some performance from Keys in the semifinal to stop the Pole from getting into the final.