Swiatek eases past Teichmann into Adelaide final

Reigning Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek is into her first final since her major-winning triumph, as the No.5 seed from Poland eased past Jil Teichmann of Switzerland, 6-3, 6-2 in the Adelaide International semifinals on Friday.

Both players were undefeated in tour-level singles semifinals coming into the encounter: Swiatek was 2-0 and Teichmann was 3-0. It was 18th-ranked Swiatek who came out of their first meeting with her perfect semifinal record intact after her 78-minute win over the World No.61.

"It was my goal from the beginning of the season, I want to be [a] more consistent player, just play good week by week," Swiatek said, during her post-match press conference. "I know it's impossible sometimes. You're just going to get tired at some point.

"But I felt pretty good from the beginning of the tournament. It's really important for me. Just I feel that it's going to be easier year by year because I'm going to be, like, more grown-up, I'm going to be able to physically and mentally handle tournaments every week.

"It was my goal, so I'm pretty happy everything worked here. Hopefully other WTA tournaments I'm going to be able to do that also."

Swiatek faced just a single break point during her victorious tussle with Teichmann, which put her into her third career singles final and first of the season. Swiatek had 17 winners to just 12 unforced errors, while Teichmann, who won two WTA singles titles on clay in 2019, had 15 winners but 20 unforced errors.

"I think she's using lot of spin on her serve, so it was pretty tough at the beginning," said Swiatek. "But then I was in a really good rhythm. When I broke her, I felt solid on my serve. I kind of felt in control from the beginning of the first set."

"Basically I'm focusing on everything, like every second of my being on court has a purpose," Swiatek added.

Superb depth on return gave Swiatek a service break for 3-1, which proved to be crucial as it was the only time either player dropped serve in the first set. Swiatek did not face a break point in the opener as she controlled the court with her forehand to clinch the one-set lead.

After saving break point in a four-deuce game to hold for 2-1 in the second set, Teichmann battled to her first break point of the match in another closely contested game. Swiatek, however, used big backhands to power her way out of that jam, then slammed more powerful groundstrokes from both wings to hold on for 2-2.

Swiatek was rewarded in the very next game, rocketing shots until she knocked off a putaway to break for 3-2. Overall, the Polish star reeled off the last five games to slide into Saturday’s championship match.

"[The] second set was pretty tough because I needed, like, two 10-minute games or something like that to break," said Swiatek. "I was feeling pretty, like, tired of being constantly focused. But it was worth it."

Seeking her second career singles title, Swiatek has not dropped a set in her four matches and will next face No.2 seed Belinda Bencic.

Looking forward to the final, Swiatek said: "The key is to keep your routines. The most important thing is to have the same attitude because I know I've been doing a great job. Keeping that is going to ensure me that it's just another match."