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World No. 1 Iga Swiatek has expressed her respect for Victoria Azarenka for seamlessly juggling between her duties on tour and motherhood.
Swiatek, 22, extended her winning streak at the Qatar Open to 11 matches after seeing off Azarenka in straight sets in the quarterfinals on Thursday. After a competitive first set - where the Belarusian won four games - Azarenka ran out of steam as Swiatek bagelled her in the second set to seal victory in 74 minutes to reach the last-four.
Having won three straight matches without dropping a set - losing just 11 games - the Pole is two wins away from a three-peat at the year's first WTA 1000 event and improving to 10-1 in 2024.
In her on-court interview, Swiatek acknowledged that she used to look up to Azarenka while growing up, which made her both happy and surreal at the win.
“I’m really happy. Vika is a great champion. I feel like she’s been at the top in terms of the best players I watched when I was younger. I’m proud I can compete on the same court and play against Victoria and win. It’s pretty crazy. It’s really surreal (to share the court with her)," she said.
Commending Azarenka for playing at a high level while being a doting mom to a seven-year-old boy, Leo, Swiatek added:
"I was thinking about it yesterday that not many players left playing at such a high level … the ones that played before. I really respect her. Especially you know.. she’s a mom.
"I don’t know how she handles everything on tour and taking care of her son. She’s an example. I’m just happy I can play on the WTA against such players.”
It was Swiatek's third win in four meetings with the Belarusian.
How Iga Swiatek beat Victoria Azarenka
Iga Swiatek faced a stern challenge from Victoria Azarenka in their Qatar Open quarterfinal on Thursday.
The 22-year-old was a point away from a 3-5 deficit before holding serve. Swiatek then turned the heat on Azarenka, who double-faulted to lose serve, before the Pole served out the opener.
The second set was one-way traffic for the World No. 1 - winning six straight games without conceding a break point - to move to within two wins of a three-peat.
Having ended the contest with 5/6 on break points and 17 winners, Iga Swiatek next faces Karolina Pliskova on Friday for a place in the final.
