Swiatek on fire again in Madrid & the world’s best golfers head to Cali

Iga Swiatek vs. Veronika Kudermetova @ 3 p.m. ET DAZN, TSN, TVA Sports, Tennis Channel

The Mutua Madrid Open enters the semifinal stage today with World No. 1 Iga Swiatek lining up against 12th seed Veronika Kudermetova at La Caja Mágica this evening.

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Swiatek is 8-0 on clay this season having scooped yet another title in Stuttgart last week, and she arrives in today’s matchup on the back of a 69 minute demolition of Petra Martic in the quarter finals.

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Swiatek put on a show against the Croatian, winning the first seven games in a row to serve up her seventh bagel of the season and claim a 6-0 6-3 victory over all.

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Veronika Kudermetova has had to work harder to reach the semis, needing three sets to win each of her four matches in Madrid.

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The Russian elemented third seed Jessica Pegula in the last round. But losing the second set 6-0 shows Kudermetova has some ways to go to maintain the consistency required at the very top level.

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Swiatek has come out on top in each of the previous three meetings between these players, and the World No. 1 dropped only a single game the last time they met in Qatar last year - a matchup that also took place at the semifinal stage.

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Kudermetova has shown her undoubted talent in each of her four matches in Madrid, but  Swiatek is the top seed for a reason, and we’re backing her to power into the final.

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The Programme Pick: Swiatek to win in Over 17.5 Total games (-105)

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Republic of Korea vs. Thailand @ 6 p.m. ET Golf Channel

For golf fans this is a truly unique event. The return of the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown - back for the first after a five year hiatus - sees the best golfing nations from across the globe compete at this four day event in San Francisco, California.

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Eight countries will be represented by a team of their four finest players and Friday’s matchup between Thailand and the Republic of Korea will see a host of former World Number 1’s on display at the International Pavilion.

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Korea’s standout player is undoubtedly Jin Young Ko, who arrives in San Fransisco having on the back of successfully defending her title at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. 

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After an injury-plagued 2022, 14-time LPGA winner Ko has racked up three top-10 finishes in six starts this season. 

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Thailand’s former World No.1 Atthaya Thitikul has also bagged four top-10 finishes in six starts this season. But we’re backing Korea to put on a show and win this year’s tournament outright.

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The Programme Pick: Republic of Korea to win outright (+300)

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TV Guide

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