Can Krejcikova stop Gauff from closing out the semi-finals?

It’s been a turbulent few months for Swiatek. After losing to Pegula in the quarterfinals of the US Open, she changed coaches and sat out the Asian swing. Here in Riyadh, she came back from a set and broke twice before beating Krejcikova. Her straight-sets loss to Gauff confirmed that, at least mentally, she was not in match shape. Her frustration was evident from the start.

“I kind of had to keep my head on a leash and keep it under control the whole time,” Swiatek told reporters. “So I haven’t had those tight moments in two months. So I kind of forgot what it’s like and how much energy it takes.

“It’s a reminder that nothing is free. It seems like you’re always working 100 percent, because in tennis the momentum can change quite quickly. You have to be consistent throughout the entire match, basically to win.”

Day 6 schedule

1:00 PM local time

(2) G. Dabrowski (CAN) / E. Routliffe (NZL) vs. (5) C. Dolehide (USA) / D. Krawczyk (USA)

Not before 3:30 PM

(2) I. Swiatek (POL) vs. (6) D. Kasatkina

Not before 6:00 PM

(3) C. Gauff (USA) vs. (8) B. Krejcikova (CZE)

Followed by

(4) S. Errani (ITA) / J. Paolini (ITA) versus (7) H.-C. Chan (TPE) / V. Kudermetova

Match distribution

No.2 Iga Swiatek (1-1) vs. (ALT) D. Kasatkina

Head to head: 5-1, Swiatek

Last match: Swiatek defeated Kasatkina 6-2, 6-3 in the 2022 WTA final in Fort Worth

Swiatek was set to face Pegula before the five-time champion withdrew, creating a potentially tougher test against a fresher Kasatkina, who is currently ranked ninth in the world.

Kasatkina won their first meeting in Eastbourne in 2021, but Swiatek has won the past five meetings, four of them on hard courts – including a decisive victory in Fort Worth two years ago.

Kasatkina has a 40–22 record for the season, with her last match ending in a quarterfinal loss to Sofia Kenin in Tokyo. However, she has had a bad fall, culminating in a three-set win in the Ningbo final – her second title of the year.

On the other hand, Swiatek has lost four consecutive matches this year against top 10 players – Zheng Qinwen (Paris Olympics), Aryna Sabalenka (Cincinnati), Pegula (US Open) and Gauff (WTA Finals) – the longest streak of such matches . her career.

No. 3 Coco Gauff (2-0) vs. No. 8 Barbora Krejcikova (1-1)

Head to head: 1-0, Krejcikova. Their only previous match was a barnburner at the 2021 French Open.

Krejcikova saved five set points in the first set and defeated 17-year-old Gauff 7-6 (6), 6-3 to advance to the semifinals. In only her fifth major singles appearance, Krejcikova claimed her first Grand Slam singles title, defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a three-set final.

That Krejcikova is even in this position defies imagination.

No player this century has advanced to the WTA Finals with fewer than 30 match wins. Krejcikova, plagued by injuries, does played alone 31 games this year.

What would it mean to reach the last four of the end-of-year tournament after such a difficult season?

“It would definitely be great to get through it and keep playing more games,” Krejcikova said. “So I will do everything I can during the match to get there.”

She did everything against Pegula, hitting 11 aces and breaking her four times.

Gauff had lost eleven of twelve matches to Swiatek before breaking through with a 6-3, 6-4 win. Perhaps coincidentally (maybe not), Gauff has now won eleven of her past twelve matches.

She has been working on her serve and it was intense against Swiatek.

“I’m in the process of changing things, so it’s up and down, and I feel like it’s going in the right direction,” Gauff said. “The first set, no break points, which I don’t even know if that ever happened against her (for Gauff).

“First WTA Final (Fort Worth, 2022) I was 0-3, and now that I’m 2-0, it’s pretty cool. Hopefully I can win three more games and finish the season.”