What ‘nerdy thing’ helped Iga Swiatek deal with rain delay and reach Bad Homburg semis against Jasmine Paolini?

Swiatek moved a win away from the first grass-court final of her career with a 6-4 7-6(5) victory over eighth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.

The contest was delayed by rain at a key moment in the second set, with Swiatek serving at 4-3 behind.

But the former world No. 1 held her nerve upon the resumption and closed out the win to set up a semi-final clash with Jasmine Paolini, who won 7-5 7-5 against Beatriz Haddad Maia in the last eight.

“I knew that the body will be a little bit sore, because sometimes after the practice or after the match, the adrenaline goes down a little bit, and then getting it up again, it’s tricky. But I always did that well, so I had believed that if we’re going to follow the right routine, it’s going to be fine.

‘For sure, like playing Billie Jean King Cup last year really helped me because I remember I had to play three times in a row (at) singles, and I had a 30-minute break and had to play doubles immediately, so I felt kind of the same and I knew I can do it.

“But yeah, I did some crosswords. So it’s another nerdy thing, but I just wanted to keep myself busy, you know, and not go on social media or stuff like that.”

Swiatek, who is playing her first grass tournament of the season, was pushed hard by Alexandrova in tricky conditions.

“I think today it was all about adjusting the conditions because it was super windy for most of the match,” said Swiatek.

“I think we both tried to do what we can and kind of on one hand, be intense, but on the other hand, play it safe, because the wind could really blow the ball away.

“But yeah, I know she’s a tough opponent and I already lost to her before so I knew that she can play amazing tennis and for sure her flat shots fit really well on the grass, so I’m happy that I’m through.”

There were three successive breaks to start the match, two of which went Swiatek’s way, but then no further break-point chances in the first set. It was Swiatek who closed it out with her third set point to move ahead.

Both players passed up three break points each in the second set before a rain delay with Alexandrova leading 4-3.

Swiatek held in a tight game when they resumed and managed to battle through a close tie-break to progress.