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Swiatek finally got on board with a hold and
looked to mount a comeback but could not prevent world number 19
Kudermetova from taking a set off her for the first time in five
meetings.
Kudermetova surrendered the second set tamely, but the
26-year-old found herself ahead in the decider as Swiatek gifted
her an early break with a double fault.
The Russian held her nerve towards the end of the contest and
finished it off with a superb serve.
"I tried to just believe I can beat her. Today it happened. I'm
really happy I managed to switch (the head-to-head) and win one
match," said Kudermetova, who took full advantage of the 50
unforced errors from Swiatek's racket.
"In the last game, I just focused on playing the point. I don't
need to hit aces. I think that was the key. I was ready to play
the rally, not just finish with the serve."
Up next for Kudermetova is Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who reached
her first semi-final since her run to the 2021 French Open final
with a 6-2 7-5 win over fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Pavlyuchenkova's career was derailed last year due to a knee
injury that needed surgery, but she battled her way back to peak
match fitness on the lower tours before reaching the Roland
Garros quarter-finals in June.
"I think the most important (thing) is to be humble and play
whatever you can to get back to the level," said Pavlyuchenkova.
"I was just working my way back to this level, trying to get
back to the top. Just trying to enjoy, since I'm getting towards
the end of my career."
Later, American second seed Jessica Pegula dropped her serve in
the opening game of her encounter with Daria Kasatkina before
producing a ruthless display to seal a 6-1 6-0 victory in 59
minutes and ease into her seventh semi-final of the season.
Pegula meets Guadalajara champion Maria Sakkari, after the
fourth seed beat fifth seed Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-2.
"Being happy on the court really makes me play good. Smiling,
enjoying," said Sakkari, who extended her winning streak to
seven matches.
"There's a big process behind it. I just feel like the happier I
am on the court and the more I smile on court, the better I
play."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter
Rutherford and Toby Davis)
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