Swiatek vs. Pegula – 4 key stats you need to know ahead of their Miami semi-final showdown
Tennis Majors, along with our partner Opta, gets you ready for the Iga Swiatek vs Jessica Pegula semi-final showdown in Miami
Iga Swiatek after her match against Petra Kvitova at the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium.
Image Credit: AI / Reuters / Panoramic
Miami Open 2022: Women’s Singles Draw | Results | Order of Play
We’re down to the final four at the Miami Open and it will be up to American Jessica Pegula to stop the incredible streak that Iga Swiatek is on. The two will square off in the second women’s semi-final on Thursday evening with the winner taking on either Naomi Osaka or Belinda Bencic, who meet in the first semi on Thursday.
Let’s take a look at some of the key stats ahead of the Swiatek vs Pegula clash
1. Can Pegula stop the Swiatek steamroller?
Iga Swiatek has now won her last 15 matches in a row; and all of them have come at the WTA 1000 level. The Pole is only is the fifth player aged less than 21 years old to win 15+ consecutive matches in a single season on hard courts in 2000s, after Venus Williams, Nicole Vaidisova, Maria Sharapova and Bianca Andreescu.
Only three players on the WTA Tour have won more than 20 matches in a row since 2010, and Swiatek will be looking to join that club if she continues her domination in Miami and beyond.
2. Second career meeting between Swiatek & Pegula
This will be the second meeting between Pegula and Swiatek. The American won their first clash in Washington 2019 (5-7, 6-4, 6-1) in the round of 16.
3. Pegula hoping to join some illustrious American women in Miami
Pegula, currently ranked No 21 in the world, could become the 10th American player to reach the women’s final at the Miami Open. Other Americans who have achieved the same in the past include Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Monica Seles, Chanda Rubin, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati and Sloane Stephens.
4. Sunshine Double for Swiatek?
The ‘Sunshine Double’ is the name for the back-to-back Indian Wells and the Miami Open events. So far, only 10 players – men and women – have won the Sunshine Double. If Swiatek wins the Miami title, she will join Setffi Graf (1994 and 1996), Kim Clijsters (2005), and Victoria Azarenka (2016) as the only women to win Indian Wells and Miami in the same season.
Swiatek could also become only the ninth woman to reach the finals in both Indian Wells and Miami in the same year after Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Kim Clijsters, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka (the last to do so in 2016).
The Pole could also become the fifth player to reach both the finals in the same year aged less than 21 years old after Monica Seles, Serena Williams, Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova.
