FILE – France’s Caroline Garcia returns the ball to Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova during their round of 16 women’s singles tennis match on the seventh day of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 3, 2022. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP)
World number one Iga Swiatek suffered a quarterfinal exit at her home tournament, the Poland Open, after losing in three sets Friday to France’s Caroline Garcia.
French Open champion Swiatek had not lost on clay in over a year before going down 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 to the 45th-ranked Garcia.
Swiatek was 18-0 on clay this season, winning titles at Stuttgart, Rome and Roland Garros, and had only dropped two sets on the surface in 2022.
“It was a very important match and I tried to be ready for it,” said Garcia.
“I started very strong, putting a lot of pressure on her. As soon as I got a bit lower-intensity, she came back very strong, and that’s what is happening against a top player.
“I stayed positive, I kept believing in my game and the way I wanted to play, and the third set was definitely very good tennis.”
Garcia will play Italy’s Jasmine Paolini for a place in the Warsaw final. Paolini recovered from a poor start to defeat Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindl faces Ana Bogdan of Romania in the other semifinal.