BAD HOMBURG, Germany — Fourth seed Iga Swiatek spent an hour doing crossword puzzles during a rain delay on Thursday, but she stayed focused and won 6-4, 7-6(5) against Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova to reach the semifinals of the Bad Homburg Open.
The Polish player is participating in her only grass court tournament before Wimbledon starts next week. Although she faced some challenges and made 37 unforced errors, Swiatek managed to secure a spot in the semifinals against second-seed Jasmine Paolini.
“I think today was mostly about adjusting to the windy conditions,” Swiatek said. “I had to be intense while also playing it safe.” She acknowledged that Alexandrova is a tough competitor and mentioned that she had lost to her before. “She plays great tennis and her flat shots are perfect for grass, so I’m glad I won.”
Swiatek took the first set by breaking Alexandrova twice, but then rain interrupted the match during the second set. To stay focused during the break, she worked on crossword puzzles, which seemed to help as she held her serve throughout the second set and won the tiebreaker.
In their head-to-head record, Swiatek currently leads Paolini 4-0. Paolini reached this stage by defeating Beatriz Haddad Maia for the fourth time in a row with a score of 7-5, 7-5, marking her first straight-set victory over Haddad Maia and her fourth semifinal appearance of the season.
Top-seed Jessica Pegula also advanced to the semifinals after winning in three sets against fellow American and fifth seed Emma Navarro with scores of 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. Pegula will compete against 20-year-old Czech player Linda Noskova, who triumphed over third-seed Mirra Andreeva with a score of 6-3, 6-3.
