Iga Swiatek reaches semi-finals on grass for first time at Bad Homburg Open
- Published
Iga Swiatek lost to France's Alize Cornet in the third round of Wimbledon in 2022
World number one Iga Swiatek has reached the semi-finals of a WTA Tour grass-court event for the first time.
The Polish 22-year-old beat Russia's Anna Blinkova 6-3 6-2 at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany.
Swiatek will play unseeded Italian Lucia Bronzetti, ranked 65th, in the semi-finals.
Elsewhere, Cameron Norrie and Novak Djokovic both gained victories in their singles exhibition matches at the Hurlingham Classic in London.
British number one Norrie beat Serbia's Laslo Djere 6-3 6-2 before seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic defeated American Frances Tiafoe 6-3 3-6 10-7.
Wimbledon begins on Monday, with the men's and women's singles draws taking place on Friday.
Swiatek has won four Grand Slam titles - the clay-court French Open three times and last year's hard-court US Open - but has never gone past the fourth round at Wimbledon.
"I wouldn't put myself close to being an expert on grass, but I'm making progress and that's the most important thing for me," said Swiatek after her win on Thursday.
"The time here really helped me. Every year I feel like it's easier to get used to the conditions.
"Usually, there's not much time to practice on grass so I'm pretty happy I used that time 100% between Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
"I'm feeling confident and hopefully I can play like that for the next two weeks."
American Emma Navarro will play in the second semi-final against either Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic or second seed Liudmila Samsonova of Russia.
Lopez loses in final tournament of career
Feliciano Lopez helped Spain win the Davis Cup in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019
Four-time Davis Cup winner Feliciano Lopez of Spain lost in the quarter-finals in his farewell tournament.
Lopez, 41, has said the Mallorca Championships will be his last competition in a 26-year career, and he was beaten 6-2 6-4 by Germany's Yannick Hanfmann.
Once ranked 12th in the world, Lopez reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon three times and the last eight of the US Open once.
In men's doubles he and Marc Lopez won the French Open title in 2016.
Why is Jonathan Pie so angry about everything?! The political journalist is let loose on the public when he gets a radio phone-in show
A cruel twist of fate forces Emily to confront her past: Rosamund Pike and Hugh Laurie star in People Who Knew Me
