Iga Swiatek has failed on her way to another major triumph at Roland Garros. The world number one was beaten in the Olympic semi-final by Zheng Qinwen from China.
01.08.2024, 15:24
01.08.2024, 15:43
SDA
No time? blue Sport summarizes for you
- Iga Swiatek (WTA 1) had not lost in the clay court in Paris for 25 matches.
- At the Olympic Games, Swiatek loses the semi-final against Zheng Qinwen (WTA 7) 2:6, 5:7 and thus for the first time since the quarter-final defeat at the French Open three years ago.
- Zheng is the favorite in the final on Saturday. Her opponent will either be Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (WTA 67) or Croatia's Donna Vekic (WTA 21).
The 2:6, 5:7 defeat against the number 7 in the rankings meant the end of a long run of success for the Polish player on the court in the south-west of Paris. Since losing to Greece's Maria Sakkari in the quarter-finals of the French Open three years ago, Swiatek had won the most important clay court tournament three times in a row and, including the four victories these days under the five rings, 25 singles matches in a row.
After clearly losing the first set against Zheng, Swiatek seemed to be able to pull his head out of the noose once again. However, after taking a 4:0 lead in the second set, not much went right for the Polish player. The Chinese player won four games in a row and made the decisive service break at 5:5.
Zheng is the favorite in the final on Saturday. Her opponent will either be Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, ranked just 67th in the world, or Croatia's Donna Vekic, the world number 21.
