A maiden Grand Slam title-decider awaits one of the two when world number 54 Iga Swiatek takes on Nadia Podoroska in the 2020 French Open semifinal on Thursday, October 8 with the live streaming options of this Iga Swiatek v Nadia Podoroska match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
Looking to watch the French Open live streaming online?
- For tennis fans in the UK, Europe, Australia & elsewhere go to bet365 > Tennis > Live Streaming here* to watch & bet on the ATP & WTA tennis live.
- Get all the other French Open Live Streaming Options Here
[the_ad id=”14063″]
*Geo-restrictions apply & pre-funded account needed
Iga Swiatek v Nadia Podoroska Head to Head
There has been no previous outing between Swiatek and Podoroska, who is ranked 131st in the world.
Also Read:
Dream Podoroska Run Breaks Record
Before the start of this French Open, Podoroska had never won a match at the main draw of a Grand Slam.
No qualifier had ever made the semifinal at Roland-Garros either.
And Elina Svitolina was on a eight-match winning streak.
All of this was ended by the Argentine on Tuesday as she stunned her more illustrious and the highest seed remaining in the tournament, Svitolina in straight sets. Podoroska broke Svitolina eight times in a match that lasted an hour and 19 minutes to win 6-2, 6-4.
Podoroska looked to have taken advantage of a defensive mindset from Svitolina, who hit just eight winners in the entire match as compared to the Argentine’s whopping 30.
Where the Argentine also looked more decidedly more decisive than her opponent in an encounter that had a total of 13 breaks of serve was her first serve despite struggling with it herself; Podoroska winning 30% of the points on her first serve to Svitolina’s 21.
The win follows three qualifying victories, before she defeated the likes of Yulia Putintseva and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova to make it this far. Not too many expected her to get past the in-form Elina Svitolina, who some reckoned was a shot at winning her first Grand Slam title but to then go down in a heap would give the 23-year-old Argentine a lot of confidence.
After all, Podoroska had just three tour-level, main draw wins in her career coming into this competition. Now she has added a whopping five in a matter of 10 days and dedicated it to her countrymen back home who had been struggling with the pandemic, can she now make that wishful dream of making the final true?
[the_ad id=”30344″]
Swiatek Sizzles to Make Semi
To put it very simply, Swiatek proved to be too good for her opponent, Martina Trevisan, a first-timer at winning a round at a Grand Slam. On the day, Swiatek blew Trevisan off the court in a match that lasted a mere hour and 18 minutes, winning 6-3, 6-1.
It did not begin as badly as that for the Italian though. For a while, in fact, Trevisan went toe to toe with Swiatek and the possibility of a keen tussle looked good.
Swiatek lost her serve in the very first game and fell 3-1 behind in the first set but that’s also when she began to turn things around. A quick hold was followed by Swiatek frittering away two break points before she captured it to level it at 3-3.
And from there on, Swiatek just dropped one game as her influence on the game began to grow at the rate of knots. She scooped up the first set and then tamed the qualifier Trevisan to win the match 6-3, 6-1.
The Pole hit a total of 20 winners to her 19 unforced errors, but broke her opponent six times to grab it by the scruff of its neck.
With a win over Simona Halep – and a crushing one at that – Swiatek had jumped to the top of the pile as a favourite to lift the title at the French Open this year. Now that even Elina Svitolina is out, Swiatek becomes the favourite to go the distance.
Small matter of getting the stodgy Argentine first though.
Swiatek v Podoroska Prediction and Tip
Swiatek is a monumental favourite to win the title, and it will begin with another straightforward win for the Pole in this one.
Tip: Swiatek to win in straight sets: 5/6 (bet365)
[the_ad id=”30513″]
The French Open 2020 will be played from September 27 to October 11. You can watch & bet on the French Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
Be the first to comment