Swiatek vs Sabalenka: Cincinnati Semi-Final Analysis (WTA 1000)

Sabalenka achieved her first straight-sets win of the rivalry with a full-press on Swiatek's serve and forehand

cover 📸 credit: Eurosport twitter

At the end of the first set, a couple of extreme stats stood out:

• Sabalenka was a perfect 7-for-7 against Swiatek’s 2nd serve

• Swiatek had 0 winning forehands with 13 errors from that wing

Swiatek’s point-winning (left) and point-losing (right) forehands in the first set. Ball direction is from bottom to top.

Also worrying for Swiatek must have been the fact Sabalenka had gone 2-for-2 on break points while hitting 2 winning returns against 1st serves.

• A forehand return winner on BP #1

• A deep forehand return that forced a “serve+1” error on BP #2

For Sabalenka, after two meetings on clay this season, the fast courts of Cincinnati were a welcome change. In particular because she wasn’t second-guessing her return strategy.

Sabalenka’s Return Strategy

If you recall our analysis of the Roma final, we mentioned how Sabalenka toyed very briefly with the idea of stepping forward to attack 2nd serves; one setback was enough for her to settle on deeper positions.

• In her 4th return point of the match, Sabalenka moved well inside the court to hit an aggressive return. However, Swiatek countered with a wide kicker that forced an off-balance return and opened up the court for a “serve+1” winner.