WUHAN, China — Iga Swiatek kept up her bid for a WTA Finals place with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Ann Li on Friday night that set up an all-Polish semifinal at the Wuhan Open.
The six-time Grand Slam champion will face Maja Chwalinska for a place in the final.
Swiatek is chasing one of the last two remaining spots in the eight-player lineup at next month’s WTA Finals in Indian Wells and took another step forward by reaching the Wuhan semis for the first time in her career.
“For sure it’s great that we have two Polish players in the semifinals,” said Swiatek of her upcoming clash with childhood friend Chwalinska.
“I think it means a lot to Polish tennis, so hopefully it’s going to be a nice match. I’m really happy for Maja, she for sure improved her game this year.”
It had been a banner week for 26-year-old Li, who stunned world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the second round and recorded the 100th tour-level victory of her career in the third round to reach a maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal.
The American world No. 31 gave Swiatek a hard time in the opening set. But despite committing 21 unforced errors and facing three break points, Swiatek hung onto the one-break gap she created early on and took a one-set lead in 56 minutes.
Swiatek made a strong start to the second set and never let go, as she moved into her fourth WTA 1000 semifinal of the year.
French Open finalist Chwalinska reached her first WTA 1000 semifinal with a 6-0, 3-6, 7-5 triumph over Greece’s Maria Sakkari.
“I think it would be great for us and great for Polish tennis as well,” Chwalinska said of her Saturday meeting with Swiatek.
“It would be a great honor for me also because she’s such a great champion, she’s done almost everything in our sport.”
Earlier, Sonay Kartal claimed the second top-10 win of her career and guaranteed herself a return to the top 100 with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory over Ukrainian world No. 6 Elina Svitolina.
