On Wednesday at Melbourne Park Iga Swiatek won her second Australian Open semifinal with a dominant 6-1 6-2 victory over Emma Navarro.
The match turned controversial when Swiatek got lucky with her drop shot pick-up in the fifth game of the second set because it appeared to bounce twice before she could grasp it.
The final points of Swiatek’s victory under the sun at Rod Laver Arena led to an American matchup with Madison Keys who defeated Elina Svitolina 3-6 6-3 6-4 before Swiatek.
According to Swiatek her match was more challenging than what the scores indicate.
Even though Swiatek leads Keys 4-1 in matches she expects this match will be challenging.
Since Madison ranks among the top players with extensive experience I do not know what to expect from our match. She told me that the match loss destroyed me so fighting her would be hard.

After Keys defeated Svitolina she looked forward to supporting Navarro as the next American player competing against Venus Williams.
Since her US Open title in 2017 she has not reached another Grand Slam final and now she must evaluate her chances against Keys.
Everyone watched the top section of the women’s bracket as favorite Aryna Sabalenka qualified for the Paula Badosa semifinal match on Tuesday.
Swiatek leads toward the championship since she played her matches with the lowest game count at 14.
Despite her loss on paper Navarro fought Swiatek hard in the second set and earned a break point in game five before a disputed ruling changed the momentum.

Before hitting the ball Swiatek ran toward the net to collect a drop shot that seemed to hit the ground twice according to different replay perspectives before her racket picked it up.
After winning the game and point Swiatek proceeded with the match while Navarro spoke to the chair umpire in frustration.
After losing three games straight Navarro’s chances ended.
After hitting a return into the net on match point Swiatek made it through when Navarro sent her final shot wide.
Keys advanced to her third Australian Open semifinal as she won her 10th match in a row through her dominant style.
The 29-year-old Keys feels proud of her progress and excited to reach her third Australian Open semifinals. To advance further I needed to attack earlier by moving to the net faster.
I used better strategy and decision making this time. Probably a little bit less fearless.”
At 29 years old and from Rock Island, Illinois, Keys faced Svitolina in Grand Slam matches for the third time and lost two of them in a row. They most recently met in the fourth round of the 2019 US Open.
On a chilly afternoon the Ukrainian found her opportunities when Keys started missing early in their match.
Gael Monfils signaled his approval from the player’s box as his wife Svitolina won the eighth game through an unforced error and a service mistake from Keys.

Keys improved her play by creating opportunities on Svitolina’s serve during game 4 of set 2. Through her precise volley response Svitolina stopped Keys from adding another point to her total.
Keys broke through Svitolina’s serve after the Ukrainian player lost her focus in game two. Keys held two match points at 5-3 but lost the first with a poorly controlled forehand then won the game with her strong serve.
She built two break chances at 2-2 in the third set with her powerful forehand down the line before returning a fierce backhand winner to win the service game.
Keys won the match on the first point of the decisive game because Svitolina ended up hitting the ball beyond the baseline in desperation.