Iga Swiatek overcomes titan Marketa Vondrousova clash to reach last four of Cincinnati Open

World No.1 Iga Swiatek needed to dig deep to see off Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova and reach the Cincinnati Open semi-finals.

The Roland Garros and US Open champion came from behind to win 7-6(3) 6-1. She fell 5-3 behind in the hour-long opener, before pulling the set back via tiebreak, and eventually sealing victory in straight sets.

“I’m really happy with my performance,” Swiatek said after the match. “At the beginning, it wasn’t easy to get used to her lefty spin, but I’m happy that I kind of played better and better throughout the whole match. At the end, I was really solid.”

“When she was serving on 5-4, I felt like I have space to kind of push and to get back to the game and break back. I did that. I’m happy that I made good decisions and chose the right solutions to win these points.

“I think she also kind of made some mistakes. I think the most important is to use your opportunity, and I’m happy that I did that.

“In the tiebreaker, any point matter. I’m happy that I could kind of focus a little bit more. I already know what I have to play after these games that we played. I learned my lesson. I think I was more efficient.”

The 22-year-old will face either American Coco Gauff or Italian Jasmine Paolini for a place in the final.

Elsewhere, Karolina Muchova joined Swiatek in the semi-finals after Marie Bouzkova retired due to a right thigh injury.

The Czech player led 3-0 in the first set before Bouzkova was forced to pull out, and she will play either Aryna Sabalenka or Ons Jabeur in the next round.