The world number one suffered a surprise loss to Elena Rybakina in the fourth round of the Australian Open but has been a woman on a mission in her first tournament since. Swiatek dropped just a single game to Danielle Collins in her first match before being given free passage through to the semi-finals when Belinda Bencic withdrew. And the Pole was in a hurry again against eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova, wrapping up a 6-0 6-1 victory in just 56 minutes. In the final, Swiatek will take on second seed Jessica Pegula, who had a much tougher time amid the windy conditions before seeing off fifth seed Maria Sakkari 6-2 4-6 6-1. "That was probably the hardest conditions I've ever had to play in, wind-wise," Pegula said after the match. "I'm glad I didn't get too frustrated. I think I played very smart." Pegula comfortably won her last meeting with Swiatek at the United Cup last month, though Swiatek holds a 4-2 overall record against her. "It always takes a lot to win against Jessie. She's a great player, a really solid one," Swiatek said. "We'll see, honestly. I'm not going to predict anything or over-analyze. I'm just going to go out and play my best tennis, and we'll see." Swiatek is bidding to be the first player to successfully defend a title on the WTA Tour in 2023.

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