A day after a nationwide power outage caused fourth-round action at the Mutua Madrid Open to be suspended, Iga Swiatek got normal service back on track to open Tuesday's rescheduled play -- but only after surviving a serious scare.
The No. 2 seed continued her title defense with a 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-4 defeat of No. 13 seed Diana Shnaider in 2 hours and 34 minutes. After enjoying a 22-minute first-set whitewash, Swiatek was forced to battle hard, saving 11 out of 13 break points over the course of the contest.
Swiatek has yet to lose before the quarterfinals in seven tournaments this year -- but she has also not gone past the semifinals since Roland Garros last year. In the last eight, she will face Australian Open champion and No. 5 seed Madison Keys, who defeated No. 19 seed Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3. It will be their first meeting since Swiatek fell to the American from match point up in the Australian Open semifinals; she still holds a 4-2 head-to-head lead, including 3-0 on clay (all in straight sets). Keys, who won just three matches across her first nine appearances in Madrid, has now made the last eight for a second year in a row.
Four-time Roland Garros champion Swiatek has now reached 17 consecutive clay-court quarterfinals, a streak that dates back to her third-round loss to Ashleigh Barty at Madrid 2021. It is the longest such streak since Martina Hingis made 19 clay-court quarterfinals in a row between Hilton Head 1997 and Hamburg 2002.
From smooth sailing to narrow escape: A much-anticipated first meeting between the pair did not initially deliver. Swiatek conceded just seven points in the first set as Shnaider, slow to settle, coughed up 13 unforced errors.
But despite the lopsided score, two stats were in the 20-year-old's favor. She came into the contest with a perfect 7-0 career record against Grand Slam champions -- and the last three times she had lost a set 6-0, she ended up winning the match anyway. Shnaider performed a hard reset at the start of the second set, winning the first barnburner of a point with a deft volley, and broke Swiatek for 2-0.
Shnaider held break points in all but one Swiatek service game in the second set -- 11 in total. While the Pole's error count increased sharply -- she committed 34 in the second set alone -- she played her best tennis with her back to the wall, and saved nine of those. But despite Shnaider's frustration at being pegged back repeatedly, she displayed real fortitude to shrug off the missed opportunities and keep hammering away with her swashbuckling left-handed forehand.
Both players had chances to take control of the decider. From 1-1, four straight games featured at least one break point. Only one was converted -- by Swiatek, who unleashed on a backhand return to move up 3-2. Another terrific backhand from the Pole fended off a break-back point in the subsequent game, and that lead proved decisive.
In Swiatek's words: "I think I moved better, and I spin the ball a little bit more," she said of her deciding-set play. "In second set it got pretty windy, and I didn't move my legs properly. I played some shots like not being ready, you know, so for sure that kind of kept my rhythm off. And then Diana also used her chances, and she was more proactive than in the first set. So I think it was a mix of different things."
For Swiatek, her clutch performance on break points was down to playing them like any other, rather than specifically raising her level.
"I treat every point the same way," she said. "I don't feel like I need to change anything on break points. I just trust that it's going to work. That mindset, I think, helps with tension a little bit."
This was a bit of a weird one, a bagel set from Iga followed by a lost tiebreaker to go to 3.
First set I think Diana was adjusting to Iga's game and in the 2nd she settled down, took advantage of Iga's unforced errors and played more of hers.
3rd set was a bit more even.
Iga did have an awful lot of breakpoints to defend (13 in total 2 of which Diana was able to take).
Definitely another one of those matches where Iga won ugly.
It wasn't the most high quality match over all very few winner between both.
I'll chuck this up to it being their first meeting those are always tricky and a bit strange.
Maybe these types of matches is exactly what Iga needs to get her level and confidence back on her favourite surface.
Not playing pretty but still believing and using your experience and skills to win anyway.
And she did just that, stayed calm even when things weren't going her way.
Madison Keys next.
Definitely a challenge given her confidence with winning Australian Open. But still a big chance for Iga to avenge that semi final loss in January.
If Madison serves well it'll definitely put a lot of pressure on Iga, but one thing Iga has always been able to do well on the red stuff is move Madison around, so I think as long as she does that and keeps it close score wise it'll go well.
It is the one surface Madison has yet to beat her on all her other wins were on fast hard court surfaces on home turf.
Iga really hasn't had the easiest draw here (unlike Sabalenka) and will have to slay a lot of her demon's if she is to get back to the final.
Keys and then possibly Andreeva in the semis the 2 women who have beaten her this year.
But we take it one point and one match at a time.
Jazda Iga, you've got this!.
Opta Ace stats
78 - Including the BJK/Fed Cup, Iga Swiatek remains undefeated at WTA level in matches where she has claimed a 6-0 set, moving to a career win-loss record of 78-0. Unscathed.
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