By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, August 11, 2023
Iga Swiatek defeated Danielle Collins 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, scoring her 50th win of the season and setting up a Montreal semifinal vs. Jessica Pegula.
Photo credit: Omnium Banque Nationale Facebook
Danielle Collins had her moments, but Iga Swiatek celebrated a Montreal milestone tonight.
The top-seeded Swiatek conquered Collins 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, scoring her 50th win of the season and advancing to the Montreal semifinals for the first time.
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The WTA Tour leader in 2023 victories with a 50-7 record, Swiatek is the first woman to register back-to-back 50-win seasons since Karolina Pliskova did it in 2018-2019.
"Well, for sure the momentum changed a little bit," Swiatek said. "I knew that I can't really afford to stop my hands, so I really wanted to play, to swing it.
"On this tournament I tried to not overanalyze everything. I have easy solutions and easy things that I need to do to play better, so I just thought what I need to change."
Opening the tournament defeating Pliskova 7-6(6), 6-2 and followed it fending off Czech Karolina Muchova 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Defeating Collins, who knocked Swiatek out of the 2022 Australian Open semifinals, Swiatek has now defeated three Grand Slam finalists in succession.
"I think it's pretty tricky when you're playing against the No. 1 player in the world," Collins said. "She's very precise with her shots. She runs down a lot of balls.
"You know, there were a couple of points here and there in some of those sets that I lost, and ultimately it determined the outcome of those sets."
Warsaw champion Swiatek rides an eight-match winning streak into tomorrow's Montreal semifinal vs. Jessica Pegula.
The fourth-seeded Pegula won the final three games edging doubles partner Coco Gauff 6-2, 5-7, 7-5, and advancing to the National Bank Open semifinals in Montreal for the third consecutive year.
Reigning Roland Garros and US Open champion Swiatek has won five of seven meetings vs. Pegula, including dispensing a 6-3, 6-0 thrashing in the Doha final last February. Swiatek also beat Pegula in the 2022 US Open quarterfinals en route to the US Open championship.
"Jesse, we faced each other plenty of times," Swiatek said. "She's really consistent and one of the best players for the last couple of seasons.
"It's not going to be easy for sure, but yeah, I'm not going to tell you the tactics. So I'll just say that I'll give my best, and I hope it's going to be a nice match."
Qualifier Collins carried a five-match winning streak into tonight's quarterfinal, including main-draw victories over Elina Svitolina, Maria Sakkari and home hero Leylah Fernandez.
Playing her sixth match in a week sapped Collins' energy as the match progressed.
"I think this many matches in I think from an energy perspective that probably had a big affect on the match," Collins said. "I don't want to take away from Iga's performance. I think the way she was hitting her shots and her precision and what she was doing tactically was great. So, yeah, it was a good match.
"I think the scoreline in the end, too, it really kind of just came down to the two games that I lost on serve. Close games, but just got away from me, so just a couple of points."
The 2022 Australian Open finalist banged her backhand down the line to trouble the top seed.
Collins continued slashing her two-hander down the line earning a fourth set point. When Swiatek scattered a forehand, Collins snatched the second set and forced a decider.
The four-time Grand Slam champion broke for a 2-1 third-set lead and backed up the break with command at 15 to extend her lead to 3-1.