Ladies’s high seed Iga Swiatek survived a scare in opposition to American Danielle Collins to achieve the Olympic tennis singles semifinals after her opponent retired within the deciding set at a scorching and humid Roland Garros on Wednesday.
The Pole, overwhelming favorite for gold in mild of her 4 French Open titles, was rattled and surprised by a fierce ball to the physique early within the third set, however composed herself to earn a 6-1, 2-6, 4-1 victory.
It was not classic Swiatek by any means however she lived to combat one other day as the primary Pole to achieve the semifinals at an Olympic tennis event.
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The 23-year-old claycourt specialist will face China’s Zheng Qinwen for a spot within the gold-medal match after Zheng outlasted German veteran Angelique Kerber in a three-set thriller.
Swiatek had cruised by means of the opening three rounds and was in complete command after a quick begin in opposition to eighth seed Collins.
However her sport all of a sudden went off the boil within the second set as Collins turned the aggressor from the again of the court docket.
Issues didn’t begin properly for Swiatek within the third set when she was off-balance on the internet and Collins drilled a groundstroke that caught Swiatek within the midriff — the American strolling across the internet to test on her opponent.
But it surely was Collins who started to undergo within the decider and had one go to from the coach earlier than calling it a day.