The irony as Iga Swiatek continues her torrid run through the Middle East fields this month is that her focus is on broader, less specific goals.

“They’re not really based on results,” she said a few days ago at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. “It’s more about how I want to approach the tournaments mentally, my attitude, and developing as a player because I feel I have many things to improve on court.

“Sometimes it’s not going to be visible by results or the way I play. I think I can have more options on court. These are my goals.”

The macro approach seems to be working. After a surprising loss in the fourth round of the Australian Open, the World No.1 just might be playing the best tennis of her young life -- which is saying something. She lost only five games on her way to the title last week in Doha and now in Dubai has surrendered a total of three in forceful victories against Leylah Fernandez and Liudmila Samsonova.

Dubai: Scores | Draw | Order of play

After receiving a quarterfinal walkover from Karolina Piskova -- her second in two weeks -- she’ll meet No.5 seed Coco Gauff in a Friday semifinal. On Thursday, Gauff defeated fellow American Madison Keys 6-2, 7-5.

Gauff takes out Keys to reach Dubai semifinals

The quality of Swiatek’s five post-Melbourne wins is breathtaking. In order, she defeated Danielle Collins (a 2022 Australian Open finalist), Veronika Kudermetova (ranked No.11) and Jessica Pegula (No.4), 2021 US Open finalist Fernandez and No.13 Samsonova.

Doing the math, opponents won a total of eight games in 10 sets. Pegula managed three games in the first set of their Doha final, but the other nine sets were 6-1 (five) or 6-0 (four) -- two more 6-0 sets than any other player this season. In that remarkable run, Swiatek has won more than two-thirds of the points, 279 of 415.

Since rising to the No.1 ranking last March, Swiatek has gone 52-8, a winning percentage of 86.7, surpassed only by Justine Henin and Serena Williams this century.

Here’s a look at Friday’s semifinal matchups, which feature three of the world’s Top 6 ranked women:

No.1 Iga Swiatek vs. No.5 Coco Gauff

The facts: In five previous matches against Swiatek -- four of them in 2022 -- Gauff has yet to win a set. At the same time, at the age of 18, the American teenager is nearly three years younger.

“I mean, no pressure,” Gauff told reporters after beating Keys. “She’s playing at the top of her game. It’s going to be a challenge. But, to be honest, I think it’s a good matchup just to see where I can maybe improve on.

“I’m just going to go out there swinging. Whatever happens happens. You just kind of have to go in believing you can win even when the odds seem stacked against you.”

Gauff failed to win more than three games in those four matches last year but, yes, there is reason to believe that, going forward, this matchup will become more competitive. Against Keys, Gauff defended with her typical brilliance but also displayed a more consistent serve and forehand -- points of emphasis in the offseason.

Because this is her fifth season on the Hologic WTA Tour, it’s easy to forget she’s still a teenager and has already produced some major accomplishments. One of those losses to Swiatek last year was the French Open final. She’s now the first woman since 2009 to reach a WTA 1000 semifinal before turning 19.

Head to Head

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She’s also only the fourth American woman to reach 10 WTA semifinals before that age over the past three decades, joining Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams and Serena Williams.

Gauff is widely viewed as the future of tennis; that future seems very close to colliding with the present.

“I never label myself that,” Gauff said.  I always said I just want to be the best that I can be. It definitely adds pressure to it, especially when you have these losses, people say things about you, the rest of your life. I have to remind myself I think I have a long career ahead of me.”

Gauff referenced the careers of Swiatek and Sabalenka, citing their losses before breaking through with a Grand Slam singles title.

“It’s just like those experiences,” Gauff said, “I have to just remind myself that's life. There’s ups and downs and you have to just wait for your moment and keep working hard for that moment.”

No.3 Jessica Pegula vs. Barbora Krejcikova

Krejcikova is a pretty fair doubles player -- with Katerina Siniakova, she’s won seven Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal. But don’t let the fact that she’s the only unseeded player left in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (ranked No.30) fool you.

The 27-year-old Krejcikova is hardly a doubles specialist. She won the 2021 singles title at Roland Garros and has a habit of rising to the occasion against top players. Krejcikova defeated No.1 Iga Swiatek in three sets last fall in a rousing Ostrava final. Thursday in Dubai, Krejcikova somehow rallied to defeat No.2 Aryna Sabalenka for the first time, 0-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1.

Not only did that end Sabalenka’s 13-0 start to the year, it came after she won nine of the first 10 games. That underlines the composure Krejcikova brings into this semifinal match against Pegula, who did not need to step on the court Thursday. 

The World No.3 was granted a walkover by Karolina Muchova.

By the Numbers: Krejcikova ends Sabalenka's winning streak in Dubai

Krejcikova has now reached two career WTA 1000 semifinals -- both times in Dubai. She has hit more winners (108) in this tournament than any other player.

Pegula defeated Viktoriya Tomova and Ana Bogdan to reach her fifth straight WTA 1000 quarterfinal. In her most recent WTA 1000, last October in Guadalajara, Pegula came away with the title.

As it turns out, the two have played only once before -- and that was 33 days ago in the fourth round of the Australian Open. Pegula prevailed 7-5, 6-2. Still, the critical game with Krejcikova serving at 5-all featured 11 deuces before eventually going to Pegula.

“I’m looking forward for the revenge,” Krejcikova said afterward. “I definitely want to just go there again and just enjoy the match, just fight for every single ball. If I’m able to do that, I think I definitely have a chance."