MELBOURNE, Jan 22: Iga Swiatek is dominating her Australian Open opponents the way no one has at Melbourne Park since Maria Sharapova in 2013.
Swiatek’s latest lopsided win came via a 6-1, 6-2 score in the quarterfinals against No. 8 seed Emma Navarro on Wednesday.
The No. 2-seeded Swiatek not only has not dropped a set so far in the tournament, but also has lost a grand total of only 14 games as she seeks her first title at Melbourne Park and sixth Grand Slam trophy overall.
Sharapova was the last woman to reach the Australian Open semifinals having dropped fewer than 15 games.
Swiatek will face No. 19 Madison Keys of the U.S. on Thursday night for a berth in the final.
The other women’s semifinal is No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, against her good friend, No. 11 Paula Badosa.
Keys, whose best showing at a major was getting to the title match at the 2017 U.S. Open, was a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 winner against Elina Svitolina and is into her third semifinal in Australia.
SINNER DOWNS LOCAL FAVOURITE
Defending champion Jannik Sinner was also at his impressive best as he dismantled local favourite Alex de Minaur 6-3 6-2 6-1 for his 10th victory over the eighth seed in as many matches and returned to the last four at Melbourne Park.
“I felt like today was a great match from my side,” said Sinner, who battled illness in the previous round but looked unstoppable on a cool evening at Rod Laver Arena.
“I served very well. Breaking quite early in each set was very important for me and for my game. So, yeah, for sure was the best match of the tournament so far.”
SHELTON IN SEMIS
Ben Shelton’s Australian Open quarterfinal foe, Lorenzo Sonego, produced the shot of the tournament — diving to his left for a volley with so much spin that the ball bounced on one side of the net, then floated back over to the other — but it was the American who ended up with the victory Wednesday.
The left-handed Shelton did some entertaining of his own, including earning cheers by doing a couple of push-ups after tumbling in the concluding tiebreaker, and he reached his second Grand Slam semifinal at age 22 by beating the unseeded Sonego 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (4).
“I’m relieved,” said Shelton, who will meet No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy on Friday for a spot in the final. “Shout out Lorenzo Sonego because that was some ridiculous tennis.”
KEYS TO MEET SWIATEK
Madison Keys is back into the Australian Open semifinals for a third time after her 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win Wednesday over Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
The 29-year-old Keys is on a 10-match winning streak after warming up for the year’s first major with a title at Adelaide, where she beat fellow American Jessica Pegula in the final.
Her run to the semifinals at Melbourne Park has included victories over two former Australian Open finalists – Danielle Collins and Elina Rybakina – in the third and fourth rounds.
Keys, the 2017 U.S. Open runner-up, next faces the winner of Wednesday’s later quarterfinal between five-time Grand Slam singles champion Iga Swiatek and No. 8 Emma Navarro.
This is Keys’ 11th trip to the Australian Open, where her best performances have resulted in semifinal losses to the eventual champion: against Serena Williams in 2015 and to Australia’s Ash Barty in 2022.
SHELTON CRITICIZES TV INTERVIEWERS
American tennis player Ben Shelton criticized on Wednesday some of the questions and comments made by post-match TV interviewers at the Australian Open.
After Shelton reached the semifinals at the Grand Slam tournament, he followed his final answer at his news conference by saying: “One thing that I just want to say before we’re done: I’ve been a little bit shocked this week with how players have been treated by the broadcasters.”
He began by referencing the flap over a television commentator’s on-air insults about Novak Djokovic, which caused the 24-time Grand Slam champion to refuse to speak to the local broadcaster, Channel 9, after one match.
Djokovic eventually relented after receiving public apologies from the network and its employee, Tony Jones.“I don’t think that was just a single event,” Shelton said. “I’ve noticed it with different people, not just myself.”
Shelton went on to mention the interview with 19-year-old American Learner Tien after his upset win over 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev ended at about 3 a.m. in the second round at Melbourne Park last week, calling it “embarrassing and disrespectful.”
TENNIS AUSTRALIA RECIVES FUNDING
Tennis Australia said Wednesday it had received nearly one million Australian dollars ($625,000) in funding to support more women and girls in culturally diverse areas to “play tennis and enjoy the mental and health benefits sport provides.”
It said the Australian government provided the funding to deliver programs in up to 60 tennis clubs to improve the participation and retention of women and girls from “Culturally and Linguistically Diverse” communities.
Tennis Australia said that beginning in July, it would work with the tennis clubs across Australia, supervising programs in each club in the affected communities to assist 30 women and girls.
“Equality, inclusion and diversity – both on and off the court – are at the heart of everything we do,” Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley said. “This additional funding from the government will support our ongoing work with women and girls in tennis, now with a focus on culturally diverse communities.” (AP)