Iga Swiatek defeats Emma Raducanu, extends Stuttgart win streak into semifinals

Iga Swiatek continued her perfect record at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, improving to 10-0 as she stands two wins away from a third straight title in Stuttgart after defeating Emma Raducanu, 7-6 (2), 6-3.

Swiatek found herself up against an unseeded but in form former Grand Slam champion in Raducanu, who stunned the world by winning the 2021 US Open as a qualifier but has been snake-bitten by injuries in the three years since. But the top seed found her footing to deliver an impeccable performance in the tiebreaker to ultimately seal victory in two hours and three minutes on Center Court.

Indeed, Raducanu spent much of last year off tour after undergoing multiple surgeries to address injuries for her ankle and both wrists, falling from a career-high ranking of No. 10 to outside the Top 300. Still, she showed marked improvement at the BNP Paribas Open, where she played Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka tough over two sets. A month later, she put down a pair of impressive Billie Jean King Cup wins over former world No. 4 Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry, leading Great Britain to a 3-1 victory over France.

Back in Suttgart, where she reached the quarterfinals in 2022, the Brit beat fellow wild card and former champion Angelique Kerber in straight sets before defeating Czech youngster Linda Noskova to book a rematch with Swiatek, who beat her at this event two years ago.

Swiatek looked solid through her opening clay-court match against Elise Mertens after a wildly successful hard-court swing took her to titles in Doha and Indian Wells, but appeared on the backfoot early against Raducanu, who broke serve in the opening game.

Missing a wide-open forehand on game point, Raducanu surrendered the break back after a 12-minute second game but held firm through the first set and traded holds to an inevitable tiebreak.

Though Swiatek was under pressure, the Pole rarely appeared in trouble after regaining the initiative and stormed through the subsequent Sudden Death, winning the first four points to put space between herself and Raducanu before sealing the set in 70 minutes.

Looking stronger to start the second, Swiatek broke to open and kept pressuring for a double-break, holding a combined five break chances over the next two Raducanu service games. Though Raducanu saved all five, she struggled to make in-roads with her return and Swiatek served her way to a 5-3 lead as the match hit the two-hour mark.

Outrallying Raducanu to earn two match points, Swiatek converted as Raducanu erred long off the forehand to clinch the hard-fought win in two sets.

Up next for Swiatek is rival Elena Rybakina, who weathered three sets with Jasmine Paolini to reach the semifinals earlier on Friday (Rybakina leads 3-2).