Swiatek steamrolls into Madrid semi-finals

Iga Swiatek needed barely an hour to hammer Petra Martic 6-0, 6-3 on Wednesday, booking into the semi-finals at the Madrid Masters.

The world No. 1 top seed did not play the event last year due to injury and seems to be making up for lost time.

The Pole broke four times in her demolition of her Croat opponent and now owns 26 match wins and four titles on clay since the start of 2022.

Swiatek will bid for the final against Veronika Kudermetova, a winner over third seeded 2022 finalist Jessica Pegula 6-4, 0-6, 6-4.

Against Martic, Swiatek kept in complete control, sweeping the opening seven games and losing just eight first-set points.

The two-time Roland Garros champion has now won her last eight matches on clay with the grand Slam approaching later this month.

“It was a solid performance and a clean performance,” the winner said.

“I’m pretty happy with the way I was focused. I was consistent with my tactics, and I think it just paid off.

“I’m going to take it step by step, because everymatch I play in different conditions.

“Tomorrow it’s going to be pretty cold in the evening, so there is always some stuff to work on, but I’m pretty happy that I just played a solid match today.”