Teenager Swiatek to face Hercog in Lugano final
Peter Thompson
April 13, 2019 16:23 MYT
April 13, 2019 16:23 MYT
Teenage outsider Iga Swiatek will face Polona Hercog in her first WTA Tour final after a straight-sets demolition of Kristyna Pliskova at the Ladies Open Lugano.
The 17-year-old Pole needed just 54 minutes to break new ground, thrashing Pliskova 6-0 6-1 on Saturday.
Swiatek was near flawless, claiming the first nine games of a one-sided semi-final and hitting 28 winners to only 13 unforced errors to leave Pliskova shell-shocked.
The junior Wimbledon champion said: "I feel great. I'm quite surprised that I'm in the final, because that was my first tournament that I played [directly] in the main draw, but I'm really happy that I made it.
"I was believing in myself, and I hope tomorrow will be a great match also."
With a forehand winner, she's into the #SamsungOpen final! @iga_swiatek wins the semifinal over Pliskova, 6-0, 6-1 pic.twitter.com/srVhjht9nb — WTA (@WTA) April 13, 2019
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Hercog beat Fiona Ferro 7-5 6-4 to reach her first singles final for almost a year.
The 28-year-old Slovenian has not won a title since 2012 but will have a great opportunity to end that drought on Sunday after grasping all six break-point opportunities.