World top-ranked player and defending champion Iga Swiatek defeated 2018 Stuttgart champion Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 to reach the last four in Stuttgart.
Tunisian world number four Ounce Jabeur beat Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 6-0 to reach a US Open final replay against Switek.
Svetek had beaten Pliskova in the Rome 2021 final without dropping a game, but the Czech quickly took control on Friday, racing to a 4-0 lead in just a quarter of an hour. Switek swept the first four games of the second set to level the match, and after leading 2-1 in the decider, she was never troubled again.
Swiatek now holds a 3-2 career lead over Jabeur, their most recent encounter coming in the US Open final last year when the pole won in straight sets for his second major of 2022.
Jabir believes the key to winning against Switek is to be unpredictable and not let him guess the shots. “The good thing is, Iga is not at the same level as she was last year,” he said. “I think probably the main thing is being unpredictable with Iga, not knowing what shots I’m going to make. I think it’s really good to upset him a lot.”
World number two Aryna Sabalenka beat Spanish wild card Paula Badosa in a set and a break to reach the semi-finals for the third year in a row.
The Belarusian won 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 30 minutes and will next face Russia’s Anastasia Potapova, who beat French fourth seed Caroline Garcia 4-6, 6. -3, lost 6-3.
In a tight first set, Badusa saved three break points to serve out, and raced to a 6-4, 4-2 lead, before Sabalenka fought back to make it 4-4, 3-3 in seven games. 0 lead. Third set
“The key game was the eighth game in the second set,” Sabalenka said of the game that turned the tide in her favor. “I was just talking to myself and saying, ‘OK, just try one time, just try to get the ball back, and then run and move and try to win this game and maybe “You can win this set. Then who knows what’s going to happen in the third set?”
In the decider, the pair served with five breaks but 31st-ranked Badusa, who lost to Sabalenka in the semifinals in Stuttgart last year, made double faults pay with nine in total.
Sabalenka nailed her 40th winner of the day with an open court backhand on her second match point to seal the victory. The Australian Open champion has reached her fourth semifinal in six tournaments this year, her overall record now 22-3 in 2023.
Sabalenka is looking for her first Stuttgart title after finishing as runner-up to Ashley Barty in 2021 and Svetek in 2022. Potapova, ranked 24th in the world, earned her third top-five win with an upset of Garcia in 2 hours 12 minutes.
He hit 19 winners to Garcia’s 34, but committed 42 unforced errors, compared to 69 by his seeded opponent.
