No.1 seed Iga Swiatek's victorious homecoming continued with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat of lucky loser Gabriela Lee to reach the BNP Paribas Poland Open quarterfinals.
The result extended Swiatek's clay-court winning streak to 18, and her overall 2022 record to 48-4. The World No.1 has not lost a match on clay since the 2021 Roland Garros quarterfinals, where she fell to Maria Sakkari.
Against No.146-ranked Lee, Swiatek delivered an efficient and aggressive performance, firing 25 winners to the Romanian's three. Despite the rankings gulf, though, Texas Tech alumna Lee held her own for significant portions of the match.
Lee's unique game -- the 25-year-old is a left-hander with a one-handed backhand -- took some time for Swiatek to adapt to, and the first half of the first set took the pair to level pegging at 3-3. But a first double fault from Lee opened the door for Swiatek, and the Pole stormed through it, breaking with a ferocious inside-in forehand.
Swiatek had been near-flawless on serve in the first set, conceding only one point behind her delivery. Lee found her range on return slightly more in the second set, and even held break-back point trailing 4-1 following an exquisite dropshot. But Lee squandered her sole chance with a forehand error, and Swiatek motored to the finishing line.
Swiatek will next face No.5 seed Caroline Garcia in the quarterfinals. The Frenchwoman defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto for the second time in as many weeks, backing up her 0-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory in Palermo with a 6-3, 7-5 scoreline in Warsaw.
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