Made of steel: Iga Swiatek comes from the brink to defeat Caroline Garcia and reach China Open semi-final
WTAFriday, 06 October 2023 at 09:18
Iga Swiatek is the first player through to the semi-finals at the 2023 China Open after surging past Caroline Garcia in a match she so very nearly lost in Beijing.
But the now World No.2 produced some mighty resolve to dent the charge of the determined Frenchwoman 6-7, 7-6, 6-1.
While it was close though, this was for a reason as both dominated on their serves and a single break point wasn't brought up. During the opening tiebreak, it was one of 18 points which saw Garcia claim it 10-8. It was one that could've gone either way, but six aces brought the in-form Garcia over the line.
Swiatek though jumped out into the lead to begin Set Two going 4-1 up, but Garcia was able to pull all of it back before heading towards a tiebreak. One that she was two points away from winning.
This was at 5-5 after Swiatek had initially taken a 4-0 lead. But in the end, the Pole added her first set on the board and after two gruelling and matched sets, Garcia's wheels fell off as Swiatek thrashed her in the final set 6-1.
It's a sixth WTA 1000 semi-final of the season and the first time since Simona Halep in 2015 that a player has reached six in a season. Staying power throughout a period of her career where questions have finally began to be answered about her consistency.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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- Big Babe Tennis! Hoping for a good final.DaveyWavey12-09-2026
- Director needs to return to his old "job" at the Australia Open. He's clueless in NYC.
mandoist12-09-2026 - You keep writing ridiculous crap... why are you even watching tennis?mandoist12-09-2026
- They probably have a very good reason for this. I do not get it. Annoying that it finishes so late
AceOfBase12-09-2026 - I hope he wins. Would be great to have a USA winner again with the men.AceOfBase12-09-2026
- I love WTA matches. Seek them out as much as possible on youtube and other platforms I already subscribe to. With that in mind, I do not wish to pay $$$ to a notoriously slippery subscription conglomerate sports broadcaster (like SkySports) just for the privilege to watch it and the tnt/eurosport/discovery subscription went from $$ to $$$+ annually in a blink of an eye. With ATP I have been begrudgingly paying xyz tennis only channel and try to catch up on slams elsewhere (pubs, youtube with USO later on games are just as enjoyable to watch and a smart move to upload on their official channel) but they don't cover WTA. I tried another Tennis dedicated channel that advertised originally as broadcasting where I live, but turned out, they took the money, but didn't cover the matches (only fluff/filler value documentaries). I don't understand why it is so hard to not lock the live matches to one broadcaster only refusing so many people who are happy to pay for the privilege just not through that one entry point. WTA is so exciting for the last few years and they really should capitalise on it as much as possible. And I know it is somewhat naive talking without knowing the inner works, but not being able to find any WTA other than youtube (and then only highlights mostly) is just so frustrating.JayJay11-09-2026
- Clearly not AI :-)AceOfBase11-09-2026
- Oh my God!! Does anyone proofread these pages??? Case in point: However, the question mark over the 32-years-old head......???? No! No! No! However, the question mark over the 32-year-old's head...good grief man, hire a proofreader. This article is rife with errors making some sentences very difficult to read. I had to stop. I am a proofreader hence my disgust.Rapunzel10-09-2026
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