Swiatek polishes her game at expense of Zheng

Iga Swiatek won her seventh consecutive match in the Gulf on Thursday, hammering Australian Open finalist Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the semi-finals at the Dubai event.

The world No. 1 got on and off court at the Aviation Club in 88 minutes as she improved her record in the series with the Chinese player to a flawless 6-0.

“I’m happy that I played well, stuck to my tactics, I was pretty solid,” Swiatek said.

“For sure I feel better and better every day here.”

Swiatek is on fire this month, winning that Doha title last weekend for a third straight edition  since winning and running through opponents here in straight sets.

 “The challenge in playing two tournaments in a row is not having time to adjust in a peaceful way,” the 22-year-old said.

 “Maybe it’s different because you have so few matches in a row. At these other tournaments (Madrid-Rome or Indian Wells-Miami)  you have some days off.

“Now, at the beginning of the season, I feel like it’s a perfect schedule for me.”