Rivalry renewed! – Swiatek and Sabalenka will meet for the Madrid title

Red-hot Iga Swiatek continued her torrid tennis on the red clay on Thursday night in Madrid, dismantling12th- seeded Russian Veronika Kudermetova, 6-1, 6-1 to book her spot in the Madrid Open final for the first time.

Swiatek’s ninth consecutive victory on the red clay sets a rematch of the Stuttgart final with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka – Swiatek defeated Sabalenka 6-3, 6-4 in that final, and owns a 3-0 record against her rival on clay (5-2 overall).

“I think it’s gonna be a nice final,” Swiatek said. “Playing against Aryna is always tough and you have to be intense and keep your focus. For now I’m going to rest and use this time to get my fuel up, but I’m sure that I’m gonna be ready for the final.”

Swiatek in dominant form on clay

It was another breathtaking performance from Swiatek, who tracked down everything that Kudermetova threw at her and was quicker to change direction in rallies. The Pole saved all five break points she faced and converted seven of 12 break points to improve to 4-0 against Kudermetova – she has dropped just four games in the pair’s last three meetings.

Swiatek improves to 53-7 lifetime on clay with her win, and 18-3 against the top 20 on the surface. She has won each of her first eight clay-court semi-finals and will bid for her seventh title on clay on Saturday, and her 14th title overall.

A brewing clay-court rivalry?

Swiatek and Sabalenka’s rematch on the clay means that the world No 1 and No 2 players will meet in multiple finals on clay for just the third time in the last 40 years.

Earlier in the tournament, the 21-year-old Pole beat Austrian lucky loser Julia Grabher (6-3, 6-2), American Bernarda Pera, the No 28 seed (6-3, 6-2), Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova, the No 16 seed (6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3) and Croat Petra Martic, the No 27 seed (6-0, 6-3).

Kudermetova, ranked No 13, won against Spanish qualifier Nuria Parrizas Diaz (6-3, 4-6, 6-2), No 21 seed Anastasia Potapova (7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3), No 8 seed Daria Kasatkina (7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (2)) and American Jessica Pegula, the No 3 seed (6-4, 0-6, 6-4) in the previous rounds of the Madrid tournament.

Madrid WTA 1000, other semi-final result (Caja Magica, clay, USD 7.652.174):

• Aryna Sabalenka beat Maria Sakkari (9): 6-4, 6-1