Poland Iga Swiatek hits a return to France's Caroline Garcia during their women singles quarter-final match of the WTA China Open tennis tournament in Beijing on October 6, 2023. Photo by Pedro PARDO / AFP
Beijing: World number two Iga Swiatek secured a place in the China Open women's semi-finals, coming from a set behind against Caroline Garcia on Friday to win a match that hinged on razor-thin tie-breaks.
The Pole won 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 to set up a clash with either US Open champion Coco Gauff or world number six Maria Sakkari.
A tense opening set culminated with a marathon tie-break that Garcia -- ranked 10th -- eventually won with a vicious cross-court passing shot.
The stubborn Frenchwoman then bounced back from 1-4 in the second set to lead 6-5 and threatened to take the match until a limp backhand gifted another tie-break to her opponent.
From there, Swiatek took control, notching a double break in the deciding set and finally taking match point at the fifth time of asking.
In Friday's other quarter-finals, world number one Aryna Sabalenka will play fifth-ranked Elena Rybakina, while 17th-ranked Jelena Ostapenko faces Liudmila Samsonova of Russia.
The China Open is taking place for the first time since 2019 after Beijing ended strict zero-Covid travel curbs.
The men's competition concluded on Wednesday when Italy's Jannik Sinner beat world number three Daniil Medvedev in the final.
