Made of steel: Iga Swiatek comes from the brink to defeat Caroline Garcia and reach China Open semi-final

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.