Swiatek stunned as Kudermetova seals semi-final spot at Toray Pan Pacific Open

Friday, 29 September 2023 at 09:09

Iga Swiatek's return to action has been halted at the Quarter-Final stage with the World No.2 losing at the Toray Pan Pacific Open to Veronika Kudermetova on Friday morning. A win that puts the Russian into her sixth semi-final of the season.

Swiatek had a dominant record over Kudermetova winning all previous eight sets in dominant fashion. She had only lost four games, but the tables were turned in a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win.

Read also

Taking advantage of a slow start from Swiatek initially, she raced into a 4-0 lead after 17 minutes. It didn't get much better as Swiatek managed just three winners in the opening set with 20 unforced errors. Kudermetova hit three winners to nine unforced errors in a much cleaner opener.

Swiatek finally started to find her range, but couldn't convert break chances albeit she began the second by winning eight of the first nine points and earned the first break of the match. She would break again to send it into a decider.

But in the final set, Kudermetova in a drawn out game broke on her third break point to go 3-1 up. She went into protection mode doing what she needed to on her serve to seal the win from there. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova now awaits who saw off Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Quarter-Finals. A first semi-final since her run to the 2021 Roland Garros final.

In the opposite half, Jessica Pegula is bidding to join them, with Maria Sakkari - Caroline Garcia bowing it the line-up.

Read also

wta

@WTA

·Follow

Big W 😀 Veronika Kudermetova gets her first win over Swiatek to reach the semifinals in Tokyo! #TorayPPO

6:22 AM · Sep 29, 2023

988

Read 45 replies

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.

See author's posts

claps 0visitors 0

"How do you moms/ dads do it so well!!!???": Serena Williams opens up honestly on struggles of being a mother of two

Medvedev makes red hot return to China after four years with dominant Paul success in Beijing