The next clear-cut number for the Pole?
With 15 consecutive wins in a row, world number one designate Iga Swiatek now stands to take over the top ranking position from Ashleigh Barty at the end of the Miami Open 2022, regardless of the outcome of the tournament. The Pole is still two wins short of becoming only the fourth woman to win the Sunshine Double in the USA in the spring.
But the 20-year-old now has to face a local heroine. However, Jessica Pegula – a native of Buffalo – is only making the semi-finals of a major tournament for the second time in her career. In the run-up to the match between Jessica Pegula and Iga Swiatek, the odds are clearly in favour of the Polish player.
While the American benefited from injuries to her opponents in two consecutive rounds and easily booked her ticket to the semi-finals, Swiatek advanced to the semi-finals with four straight 2-0 wins in only 15 games. The future world number one did not let her opponents down and set the course for victory early on.
We expect the semifinals to be short again. A lot of value is offered by Jessica Pegula against Iga Swiatek with a bet on less than 20.5 games.
Jessica Pegula – Statistics & current form
Current ranking in the world: 21
Position in the seedings: 16
The 28-year-old American Jessica Pegula has been a fixture on the WTA Tour for more than a decade and took part in the qualifying rounds of a major tournament for the first time at the US Open in 2011.
However, the Buffalo native has only been a regular fixture in the elite class of women’s tennis since 2019, the year she won her first and only WTA Tour singles title to date when she won the 2019 WTA Washington
New career high after tournament ended
All the more surprising is the upward trend that Jessica Pegula has been experiencing for just over a year. The initial spark was her entry into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open 2021, which was followed by a year in which she reached a total of four more quarter-finals at tournaments in the WTA 1000 category.
At the Roger’s Cup last summer, she even made it to the semifinals. The reward for these many good runs: the American finished a season in the top 20 of the WTA world rankings for the first time. And the trend is still upwards. The points for the semi-final here in Miami finally move her up to at least 13th place – a new career high.
Only 28.1% of opponents’ service games won in 2022
It has to be said, however, that the 28-year-old, who has deficits in her return game in particular and has only been able to break 28.1% of all opponents’ service games in 2022, certainly had a fair amount of luck in Miami.
In both the last 16 and the quarter-finals, she benefited from injuries to her opponents and advanced to the next round without a fight after only a few games. Now she goes into the semi-finals as an underdog.
Iga Swiatek – Statistics & current form
Current ranking in the world rankings: 2
Position in the seedings: 2
Even before the surprise retirement of Ashleigh Barty, the 20-year-old Pole Iga Swiatek was considered a red-hot contender to one day become the world number one.
It is already clear that the player from Warsaw will become the first Polish woman ever to top the women’s tennis table at the end of the tournament. If she can become only the fourth woman in history to take home the Sunshine Double, that would increase her lead even further.
Still without a set loss at the Miami Open 2022
Swiatek’s jump to number one is also the logical consequence of her successful last few weeks. Since her exit in the last 16 of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in mid-February, the Pole has won 15 consecutive matches.
Most recently, the designated world number one won two tournaments in the WTA 1000 category in a row and could now celebrate the 1000 hat-trick as well as securing the Sunshine Double. After dropping a total of three sets in Indian Wells, Swiatek is still without a set loss in Miami.
Perfect combination of strong serves and venomous returns
Not even two-time Grand Slam winner Petra Kvitova was able to stop the 20-year-old, who creates danger in equal measure with reliable serves but also with poisonous returns and a high level of breaks.
It is very likely that the Pole will reach the third final in a row against an opponent who was relatively lucky to reach the semifinals. Jessica Pegula’s betting on under 20.5 games against Iga Swiatek is correspondingly good.
Jessica Pegula – Iga Swiatek Direct comparison / H2H-balance
Head to head: 1:0
At least the record favours the American, who beat Iga Swiatek 2-1 in the round of 16 in Washington in 2019. Brisant: Jessica Pegula also went on to win the tournament. It was her only singles title on the WTA Tour to date.
Jessica Pegula – Iga Swiatek Tip
When it comes to Jessica Pegula against Iga Swiatek, despite the head-to-head comparison, the prediction still goes clearly in the direction of the Pole who, with 15 wins in a row, brings the cumulative momentum with her into this semifinal. In addition, the eight-year younger player has much more experience than her American opponent. While it is only the second semifinal of a major tournament for Jessica Pegula, it is already major semifinal number six for Iga Swiatek.
Although the American should still have plenty of energy after two short matches against injured opponents, we don’t think she has much of a chance of scoring too many points against a Polish player in top form.
