The world No.1 Iga Swiatek was sensationally defeated by Jessica Pegula in the semifinals of the WTA 1000 in Montreal. The Pole recovered in the second set and she also went ahead 4-2 in the third, but losing the last four games was fatal for her.
Thus Jessica Pegula advances in the final, while the other semifinal between Elena Rybakina and the Russian Samsonova is postponed due to the rain, which has altered the matches in the last two days.
The defeat at Iga underlines a moment of difficulty for the Polish tennis player, which has lasted since the final of the Roland Garros 2023. Her performances can be reviewed, especially when it comes to Flushing Meadows for the US Open. In the coming weeks, the WTA throne will be at risk due to the assaults of Aryna Sabalenka. Surely in New York there will be a real exam to understand how much she can be the true ruler of the WTA Tour.
At the end of the match, Iga spoke at the press conference and she explained her feelings after the defeat.
Iga Swiatek shocked by defeat in Montreal: here her words
She told: “It was a high-intensity challenge and I started well. We broke each other, but she pushed harder and went longer. In the second set I was forced to change something while in the third set I can’t tell you what happened. I have to review the match and analyze the challenge, certainly deserves credit because she fought on every point. It was a very difficult challenge.
What did I do wrong? I certainly made too many mistakes and that made the difference. Right now I still don’t know the challenge, we just finished playing and I don’t know. But this can happen. I tried to be aggressive throughout the match, but in some moments I didn’t make good decisions. That’s all.”
Iga also spoke of a tournament that saw her on the court for a long time: “It was a very physical and tough tournament, especially in the match against Karolina Pliskova, which was postponed a couple of times due to the rain.
I didn’t have time to rest during the tournament but that doesn’t change much. Today I had the chance to go to the final, but I didn’t succeed. That’s part of the tournament, it’s the tennis player’s life and you have to accept that.
I wasn’t fresh and rested but that shouldn’t be an excuse for the loss, and I can say it definitely didn’t affect the match.”