Iga Swiatek celebrates 22nd Birthday at Roland Garros

I don't know about you, but Iga Swiatek is feelin' 22. The defending Roland Garros champion had a sparkling birthday celebration on Wednesday in Paris, complete with an impressive birthday cake that wouldn't have looked out of place in the window of one of Paris' best patisseries.


Swiatek was served an impressive treat, topped with fresh cream, strawberries and sparklers, and gifted a bag with presents from tournament director Amélie Mauresmo, as staff serenaded her with a rousing rendition of 'Happy Birthday.'

It's been a tradition for the Polish star to celebrate her birthday each in Paris since her first appearance as a junior in 2016—not counting her breakthrough triumph in 2020, when it was moved to October.

Swiatek later reflected on her 'Taylor Swift year' in an Instagram post, where skier Lindsey Vonn and Paula Badosa, who was forced to withdraw from Roland Garros with a back injury, were among those to send her birthday greetings.

"I see you, I see your kind words. Thank you so much," Swiatek wrote, underneath a photo of her as a little girl with (another) big birthday cake.

In her first match as a 22-year-old, Swiatek will face American Claire Liu in the second round of Roland Garros on Court Philippe-Chatrier Thursday.

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Iga Swiatek nearing 22 years old and eyeing elite tennis company

It was approaching dinner time in Paris and the shadows were creeping across Court Philippe Chatrier. And Iga Swiatek was, uncharacteristically, flustered. Cristina Bucsa, playing an uber-aggressive return position, broke her twice in the first five games.

Returning at 4-all, the No.70-ranked Spaniard actually wrangled a break point that would have left her serving for the first set against the defending Roland Garros champion. Order, however, was swiftly restored -- as it often is with Swiatek -- and she settled into a 6-4, 6-0 victory Tuesday.

And so, at this very moment, in the major scheme of things, Swiatek stands alone among women’s tennis players.

Because of a remarkable and unpredictable series of events, Swiatek is the only woman currently active and playing a full schedule to have won three Grand Slam singles titles.

Serena Williams, along with her 23 major titles, retired last fall. Venus Williams (seven majors) is 42 and played two matches back in January. Naomi Osaka (four) is expecting the birth of her first child and hopes to return to the Hologic WTA Tour in 2024. Angelique Kerber (three) is eyeing a comeback after giving birth to a daughter in February.

Ashleigh Barty (three) retired last year at the age of 25 and is expecting her first child. Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitova, both 33, have won two majors, as have Garbine Muguruza and Simona Halep. Eight active players have won a single Grand Slam singles crown.

That makes Swiatek the boss of women’s tennis. She’s won three of the past 11 contested Grand Slam events and is the clear-cut favorite to win her fourth at Roland Garros. She is one of only three women born in the 2000s to win a major -- and Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu are still looking for their second.

Swiatek, born 17 months into the 21st century, turns 22 on Wednesday. That’s a typical age for a college graduate.

“I have so much respect for Iga,” said Barbora Krejcikova, who won the Roland Garros title the one time Swiatek didn’t over the past three years. “She’s what -- 21, 22? When I was 21, I was in diapers. Like tennis-wise, in diapers.

“And she’s dominating. It’s unbelievable.”

Four majors wouldn’t put her in super-elite company, but it would place her in a nice neighborhood that includes Osaka, Kim Clijsters and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. Five? That would be impressive Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova real estate.

Martina Navratilova has been watching. She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles but was a relatively late bloomer, winning her third at the 1981 Australian Open at the age of 24. The fourth came in 1982 at Roland Garros. She was 25.

“Look, Iga’s further ahead than most at her age,” Navratilova said before the tournament. “In every way: rankings-wise, majors-wise and maturity. She seems very put together. She’s struggled with confidence over the years, but she always seems to overcome it in the end.”

Swiatek, who will also feature in Part 2 of Netflix's "Break Point," reached seven ITF finals at the beginning of her professional career -- and won them all. At the age of 17, she was the unseeded winner of the Wimbledon junior event on a surface she still struggles to command. In her first year on the Hologic WTA Tour, at the age of 18, she reached the fourth round at Roland Garros (losing to Halep) and finished No.61 at year’s end. In 2020, as an unseeded teenager, she won her first French Open title.

Today, she’s riding a 62-week run as the No.1-ranked player. She hasn’t been as dominant as last year -- Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina have closed the gap -- but Swiatek has been pretty good. She’s third in the Race to the WTA Finals and with her win over Bucsa on Tuesday, she's a sporty 29-6 this year. She’s won 19 of her past 20 matches at Roland Garros and 41 of 45 on clay.

But … if Swiatek doesn’t at least reach the quarterfinals in Paris, Sabalenka will move past her to No.1. Swiatek (8,940 ranking points) is defending 2,000 points this fortnight, while Sabalenka (7,541) defends only 310.

This is the first tournament in over a year where it’s possible she could lose the No.1 ranking.

“Well,” Swiatek said when informed of this at her pre-tournament press conference, “I didn’t even know about that. No problem. It doesn’t change a lot for me.”

That exchange underlined the attitude that has sustained Swiatek for so long on top. As the numbers and the accolades pile up, she doesn’t seem all that impressed -- freeing her up to produce the very numbers and accolades that come with them.

Swiatek’s path isn’t easy, although one serious impediment was removed when Lesia Tsurenko upset 13th-seeded Krejcikova in the first round. If the seeds hold, she could face Bianca Andreescu in the fourth round, Coco Gauff (quarterfinals), Rybakina or Ons Jabeur in the semifinals and Sabalenka in the final.

And although Swiatek’s the player of the moment, she seems positioned to play the long game. With coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, psychologist Daria Abramowicz and fitness coach Maciej Ryszczuk, she has a dedicated, intelligent team around her. And, perhaps just as important, Swiatek is willing to listen to their advice.

“Being this young,” Navratilova said, “she’s still absorbing a lot of knowledge about the game. And playing more by instinct. I mean, there’s still room for improvement.”

A victory in Paris likely will spark the intriguing how-many-majors-will-she-win conversation.

Some more major context: Osaka won her third Grand Slam singles title at 22, her fourth at 23. Sharapova collected her third at age 20, but was 25 and 27 when she won her fourth and fifth. Venus Williams already had four before she turned 22; three more Wimbledon titles came at 25, 27 and 29. Back in the day, Hingis won all five before she turned 19.

“Swiatek's got a pretty good head start, I would say, if she can keep it up physically and emotionally,” Navratilova said. “She’s playing more like a 24-, 25-year-old.

“It’s a little more open than it was this time last year. We had a pretty good idea Iga was going to be the year-end top-ranked player. Talk to me at the end of this year, but I think she’s still looking pretty good.”

Happy 22nd birthday, Iga. Many happy returns.

wtatennis.com

Iga Swiatek's No.1 ranking on the line at the French Open

PARIS -- For the first time since Iga Swiatek took over as the World No.1 on the Hologic WTA Tour, the top spot will be on the line when Roland Garros begins on May 28. Either Swiatek or No.2 Aryna Sabalenka will leave Paris with the No.1 ranking.

Swiatek will be spending her 61st and 62nd consecutive weeks at No.1 during Roland Garros. The 21-year-old from Poland is the defending champion. She captured her second title in Paris last year by defeating Coco Gauff in the final. After successful title defenses this season at Doha and Stuttgart, as well as runner-up finishes at the WTA 1000 events in Dubai and Madrid, Swiatek comes into Paris with 8,940 points.

Sabalenka has been methodically narrowing the point difference. With three titles under her belt this season, including her inaugural major victory at the Australian Open in January and her first WTA 1000 title of the season at the Mutua Madrid Open earlier this month, she enters Paris with a total of 7,541 points.

Sabalenka has not advanced beyond the third round in Paris to date. In the upcoming two weeks, she only has to defend only 130 points, a carryover from her third-round performance last year. Because of a shift in the calendar, which has moved Roland Garros back by a week, Sabalenka is also tasked with defending an additional 180 points, won from her second-place finish at the 's-Hertogenbosch grass-court tournament.

Here are the scenarios:

In order to have a chance of retaining the No.1 ranking, Swiatek will need to reach at least the quarterfinals at the French Open. Should Swiatek lose before the quarterfinals, then Sabalenka will take over as World No.1 on Monday, June 12, after Roland Garros.

If Sabalenka reaches the Round of 16 or quarterfinals, then Swiatek would need to reach the semifinals to have a chance of staying No.1.

If Sabalenka reaches the semifinals, then Swiatek would need to reach the final to have a chance of staying at No.1.

If Sabalenka reaches the final, Swiatek could hold on to No.1 only by winning the title.

Should Sabalenka overtake Swiatek for the No.1 ranking, the 25-year-old would become the 29th World No.1 in WTA history.

wtatennis.com  

Problem Solver Iga Swiatek is up for a challenge

The world No.1 is eager to push back against her rivals in Paris

Some of Iga Swiatek’s invincible aura, created in 2022 when she rolled through Paris in the midst of what would turn out to be a mind-bending 37-match winning streak, has been chipped away methodically by rivals in 2023.

Not to worry.

The world No.1 is taking the positives from adversity faced this season, and she’s eager to embrace the challenges presented by Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, the two players to defeat her on her beloved clay on the road to Roland-Garros earlier this spring.

“A totally different situation than last year,” Swiatek admitted on Friday during Media Day in Paris.

Ever the student, the soon to be 22-year-old expresses a healthy appetite for the art of problem solving, and even throws out a heady comparison to the packed room of reporters in Roland-Garros’ main interview room.

“We also have to kind of come up with some different solutions sometimes, which is pretty exciting, because I never had that yet in my career,” she said. “I think this is what the Big Three had to do for sure when they played like 30 matches against each other, or even more."

In short, Swiatek says this to the challenge presented by her rivals: bring it on!

“I'm happy to learn some new stuff," she says. "And also, for sure, we are all working really hard to play better and better. It is an extra motivation, for sure.”

In search of a new fave

Speaking of the Big Three, Swiatek spoke about the absence of her idol Rafael Nadal from this year's tournament and said it will be hard to fill the shoes of the 14-time champion.

"I always cheered for him," she said. "This time he's not going to be here, so it's going to be a little bit harder for me to find my favourite."

Swiatek, who has twice been crowned champion in a year that Nadal won the tournament, says she hopes the Mallorcan is healthy and, most of all, happy.

"Hopefully he's gonna play next season or next tournaments and he's gonna feel better. That's the most important thing for me. Because I don't want to focus on statistics or what he could achieve by playing here. For me the most important thing is if he's just healthy and happy," she added.

No.1 not an issue

It may be getting tense at the top of the WTA rankings, where Swiatek has seen much of her once gargantuan lead over the rest of the tour trimmed significantly (currently she is 1399 points ahead of Sabalenka).

So much, in fact, that the Pole must reach at least the quarter-finals in Paris to stay atop the rankings, and even that might not be enough, depending upon Sabalenka's results.

But rankings are not Swiatek's concern at the moment. She was asked about it in press and wasn't even aware of the scenarios.

"I didn't even know about that," she deadpanned.

What Swiatek does know is that she doesn't mind the pressure of having to respond to her rivals.

“It's nice to have somebody constantly, kind of watching you,” Swiatek said. “We played so many matches against each other that tactically we know (each other’s) game pretty well.”

Clean bill of health

After retiring in the third set of her Rome quarter-final with Rybakina with a right thigh injury, Swiatek says she’s good to go. She has already practised in Porte d’Auteuil several times with no strapping on the previously injured thigh, and she assured reporters that she feels fine.

“I feel really happy that I can compete and I will be healthy for my first round,” she said. “Luckily nothing serious happened, so I had a couple of days off. I'm still recovering from the thigh injury, but I'll be good for my first round. That's the most important thing for me.”

Swiatek used the time after Rome to take extra cuts on the practice for the first time in a long time. That precious time spent nailing down her technique is clearly providing her with a confidence boost.

“I'm really using this time right now, because it's my first week since I would say even Indian Wells when I have time to take everything slowly and just focus on my technique a little bit more. I think it's going to give me a lot of confidence going to the tournament,” said the three-time Grand Slam champion”


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Roland Garros draw: Rybakina, Swiatek in same half; Krejcikova looms

Not only is the No.1 ranking on the line for Iga Swiatek, but she will face stern tests as she embarks on her Roland Garros title defense.

No.13 seed Barbora Krejcikova, the 2021 champion who has defeated Swiatek in their two previous meetings, is her projected fourth-round opponent. No.4 Elena Rybakina, who has got the better of Swiatek on three occasions this year, has been drawn into the same half and could await in the semifinals.

No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka and No.3 Jessica Pegula lead the bottom half of the draw, opening up against Marta Kostyuk and Danielle Collins, respectively.

First quarter

No.1 seed Swiatek opens her campaign for a third title in Paris against Spain's Cristina Bucsa, against whom she dropped only one game in the third round of the Australian Open in January. However, the road gets progressively tougher from there. She could face No.13 Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round. The Czech, who won the title here in 2021, defeated Swiatek in their last two meetings, in the 2022 Ostrava final and 2023 Dubai final. In their only clay-court meeting, Krejcikova held match points before falling in the 2021 Rome third round.

Former World No.1 and No.18 seed Victoria Azarenka opens up against 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu. The winner could be Krejcikova's third-round opponent.

Swiatek's projected quarterfinal opponent is No.6 seed Coco Gauff, in what would be a rematch of last year's final. Gauff starts against Rebeka Masarova, whom she defeated 6-1, 6-1 in this year's Auckland final to claim her third career title. Lurking in Gauff's section are two players who have been resurgent on clay in recent weeks. Rome finalist Anhelina Kalinina, the No.25 seed, is her projected third-round opponent, while No.11 seed Veronika Kudermetova, a back-to-back semifinalist in Madrid and Rome, could await in the last 16.

First rounds to watch: [18] Victoria Azarenka vs. Bianca Andreescu; Lesia Tsurenko vs. [13] Barbora Krejcikova

Second quarter

No.4 seed Rybakina comes into Paris as an all-court threat. She built on her Wimbledon title last year to win WTA 1000 trophies on both hard courts (Indian Wells) and clay (Rome), while also reaching the Australian Open and Miami finals.

Roland Garros was in fact Rybakina's first breakthrough on the Grand Slam stage. She defeated Serena Williams in the 2021 fourth round -- in what would be the 23-time major champion's last French Open match -- to make her first quarterfinal at this level. This year, Rybakina opens against a qualifier, with No.14 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia her projected fourth-round opponent.



Danger to Rybakina could come as early as the second round. This time last year, Czech teenager Linda Noskova made an eye-catching debut as a qualifier, stretching Emma Raducanu all the way in a three-set thriller in her first ever tour-level match. The big-hitting Noskova, 18, has gone on to establish herself in the Top 50 and opens against Danka Kovinic.

In the quarterfinals, Rybakina could face a rematch of either last year's Wimbledon final, against No.7 seed Ons Jabeur, or this year's Miami final, against No.10 seed Petra Kvitova. However, both Jabeur and Kvitova have had their clay preparation disrupted by calf and foot injuries, respectively. A pair of Italian clay-courters could be poised to take advantage. Jabeur starts against 2022 Palermo finalist Lucia Bronzetti, while Kvitova opens against Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

Meanwhile, Haddad Maia could face a contrasting start to the tournament. The Brazilian opens against the slice-and-dice wiles of Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria, but in the second round will face either heavy-hitting 19-year-old Diana Shnaider or big-serving Rebecca Marino.

In this quarter, only Kvitova has previously made the Roland Garros semifinals.

First rounds to watch: Petra Martic vs. [32] Shelby Rogers; Tatjana Maria vs. [14] Beatriz Haddad Maia; [10] Petra Kvitova vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto; Lucia Bronzetti vs. [7] Ons Jabeur

Third quarter

No.3 seed Pegula heads an intriguing quarter packed with looming threats. Off the bat, she faces Danielle Collins, the 2021 Australian Open runner-up -- though Pegula will be bolstered by her 4-0 record against Collins, and her fellow American's absence from competition since Charleston.

Not that it gets any easier for the five-time major quarterfinalist. In the second round, she will face either French veteran Alizé Cornet, whose scrappiness has long made her a home crowd favorite, or the ever-dangerous Camila Giorgi. Potential fourth-round opponents include much-improved No.24 seed Anastasia Potapova, whom Pegula has needed to come back from the brink of defeat twice this year, and 2021 runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, whose comeback from injury has gained pace this week in Strasbourg.

Pegula's projected quarterfinal opponent is No.8 seed and 2021 semifinalist Maria Sakkari, but the Greek will first have to navigate one of the toughest unseeded players in the draw in her first round. Former World No.19 Karolina Muchova's talent has never been in doubt, but the Czech has been repeatedly set back by injuries. This year, she is on the comeback trail again, and has already reached two WTA 1000 quarterfinals in Dubai and Indian Well, as well as the Rome last 16. Additionally, Muchova has won both of her tour-level meetings with Sakkari to date, including in the second round here last year.

First rounds to watch: [8] Maria Sakkari vs. Karolina Muchova; Sara Errani vs. Jil Teichmann; [21] Magda Linette vs. Leylah Fernandez; Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Linda Fruhvirtova; Alizé Cornet vs. Camila Giorgi; Danielle Collins vs. [3] Jessica Pegula

Fourth quarter

Can No.2 seed Sabalenka thrive on traditional red clay? The 25-year-old ascended to the status of Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open in January and backed it up with a second Madrid title three weeks ago; she has reached at least the final of five of her eight tournaments this year. However, on the slow red clay of Rome, she lost her opener to Sofia Kenin, and she is yet to go beyond the fourth round in Paris.

Sabalenka is projected to face former World No.1 and No.16 seed Karolina Pliskova in the fourth round this time, but the Czech will have to navigate a marquee first round against 2018 runner-up Sloane Stephens first. Indeed, No.19 seed Zheng Qinwen could pose the biggest threat in this section after reaching her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal in Rome. Zheng enjoyed a breakout run to reach the fourth round here last year, where she was the only player to take a set off eventual champion Swiatek.

France's No.5 seed Caroline Garcia, Sabalenka's projected quarterfinal opponent, faces a series of stern tests as she carries her nation's hopes. She opens against another heavy-hitting young Chinese player who has found form on clay, Wang Xiyu. Garcia's section also contains both of last year's semifinalists, No.9 seed Daria Kasatkina and No.26 seed Martina Trevisan; a potential second-round encounter between Kasatkina and 2019 runner-up Marketa Vondrousova could be significant.

Also in this section is 2017 champion and perennial chaos agent Jelena Ostapenko. The No.17 seed arrives in Paris fresh off the Rome semifinals, and has the power to take the racquet out of any opponent's hands.

First rounds to watch: [5] Caroline Garcia vs. Wang Xiyu; Elina Svitolina vs. [26] Martina Trevisan; Jule Niemeier vs. [9] Daria Kasatkina; [16] Karolina Pliskova vs. Sloane Stephens; Marta Kostyuk vs. [2] Aryna Sabalenka

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Rybakina continues to be the bane of Iga's existence this season by yet again ending up in her half of the draw. 

But as in any Grand Slam we'll cross that bridge when and if we get there. So much can happen in 2 weeks. For now we take it one match at a time.

Jazda Iga!

World No.1 Iga Swiatek optimistic for French Open despite Rome injury

A day after Iga Swiatek's retirement from the Rome quarterfinals with a right thigh injury, the world's top-ranking player offered a hopeful prognosis.

Taking to Twitter, Swiatek wrote, "A couple of days off for sure. And booking my flight to Paris, so...fingers crossed, please! Hopefully, see you soon."

Before the injury, Swiatek was on a 14-match winning streak at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. On Wednesday against Elena Rybakina, Swiatek pulled out with the match tied at two games apiece in the third set. She initially sustained the injury in the second-set tiebreak and called for a medical timeout.

Despite her efforts to carry on, Swiatek eventually had to make the decision to cut the match short.

Swiatek, a three-time major champion and the reigning Roland Garros champion, has held her position as the top-ranked player for 59 consecutive weeks.

The French Open begins May 28 in Paris.

wtatennis.com

Iga Swiatek retires in Rome Quarter-finals due to right thigh injury

 

 This black outfit is on point!

ROME -- No.6 Elena Rybakina advanced to the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia after two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek was forced to retire with a right thigh injury. The reigning Wimbledon champion advanced to her first WTA 1000 semifinal on clay after Swiatek retired at 2-6, 7-6(3), 2-2.

Rybakina will face No.20 Jelena Ostapenko in the semifinals on Friday.

With wins over Swiatek at the Australian Open and Indian Wells earlier this year, Rybakina is now 3-2 against reigning World No.1s in her career. The 23-year-old is into her third WTA 1000 semifinal of the season.

Swiatek's retirement ends her 14-match win streak at the Foro Italico. She had won the titles the past two years.

Story of the match: In the fourth installment of the rivalry between the reigning Roland Garros champion and Wimbledon champion, Swiatek's clay-court prowess was on full display early as she looked to level their head-to-head record to 2-2. Rybakina had yet to drop a set in Rome and was bidding to advance to her third WTA 1000 semifinal of the season and first of her career on clay.

Facing the player who accounted for two of her five losses this season, Swiatek was the picture of focus and intensity from the first game. Not even a humorous interruption in the first game could put the two-time French Open champion off. With a flurry of return winners, Swiatek broke Rybakina in her opening service game and repeated the feat two games later to open a double-break lead at 3-0.

Rybakina would finally get on the board at 4-1, but the Indian Wells champion struggled to do damage with her serve and forehand. Swiatek deftly absorbed Rybakina's pace and drew errors, while out-striking her opponent as well. Behind 11 winners to just five unforced errors, Swiatek sealed a dominant opening set in 44 minutes.

Swiatek carried her momentum into the early stages of the second set. She broke Rybakina immediately and would build a 3-1 lead.

Turning point: Rybakina would have to wait until 6-2, 4-3 before she saw her first break point chance of the match. Down 15-30, Swiatek fired a forehand wide to give Rybakina two chances to get back on serve. She needed just one, as Swiatek landed another driven forehand wide to even the set at 4-4. Rybakina carried that resilience into her next service game, where she wiped out three break points from 15-40 down and hold to 5-4.

In the tiebreak, Rybakina showed why she has lost just one tiebreak this season. The Kazakh played it perfectly to move that record to 9-1 and take the match into a third set after two hours of play.

Injury concern for Swiatek: On the penultimate point of the second-set tiebreak, Swiatek came out of a slide wincing. She took a medical timeout during the set break and returned with strapping around her upper right leg.

When play resumed, Swiatek gamely tested her movement for four games. After Rybakina held serve to 2-2, Swiatek walked to the net to shake hands, ending the 2-hour and 20-minute duel.

"I saw something happen in the tiebreak, on almost the last point but I didn't know how serious it is," Rybakina said. "I saw that the first two games she started really aggressive so I understood that she couldn't really move that much. but she was still making good returns and I knew that I had to be focused. I know myself that if anything is hurting you're trying to go for it and a lot of times it works. So she probably did the same, but after, I guess it was too much."

wtatennis.com

I have so many feeling right now, and none of them good :(  

It was going so perfectly Iga was in finals mode in that first set. It was absolutely magical tennis from the undisputed World #1. 

I just can't help thinking what would have happened had she not lost that break in the 2nd set (at 4-3 I think) and the set hadn't gone into a tiebreak would this injury still have happened?. 

It honestly hurts either way. 

This was the best Iga played this tournament, the level was just off the charts fantastic. I'm starting to think Rybakina is some kind of jinx for Iga every time they play she's either injured or sick. 

This is only the 2nd time in her career in 5 years that Iga has retired from a match. Which in itself is extraordinary. 

I guess it was bound to happen with how much tennis she has played since coming back from the rib injury a month ago. Playing back to back tournaments in Madrid and Rome. 

It's also why I'm not a fan of the new 12 day format for Masters 1000 events. 

The match scheduling is even worse than before. 

No one should have to play any kind of sport after midnight (which is what Iga was doing today for the 3rd time in almost as many weeks). 

Playing in the rain in cold conditions it's like asking your star players to get injured. Ridiculous. This needs to be changed. 

We've been blessed all this time with Iga having minor injuries. 

I am still hoping and praying that whatever the injury is it's just a muscle strain, and that she pulled out as a precautionary measure before Roland Garros. 

We'll know for sure tomorrow once Iga gets some tests to see the seriousness of the injury. I don't even want to fathom Roland Garros without Iga in it. 

Rafa Nadal is also making an announcement the same day regarding his participation in this year's 2nd Slam.  

If we lose Rafa and Iga in one breath tomorrow, I will cry. 

Staying positive till we know something more definite, until then wishing Iga the speediest of recoveries. Stay strong, Jazda!

Needless to say I no longer care about the result for the women in Rome since I'm not a fan of any of the players remaining. 

Have a hunch it might be Jelena Ostapenko.

Iga Swiatek into Rome quarterfinals for the 3rd straight year

 

No.1 seed Iga Swiatek shrugged off an overnight rain delay to reach her third straight Internazionali BNL d'Italia quarterfinal, defeating No.21 seed Donna Vekic 6-3, 6-4 to set up a marquee last-eight meeting with Elena Rybakina.

Two-time defending champion Swiatek has now won 14 straight matches and 24 consecutive sets at the Foro Italico. The last player to win a set from her in Rome was Barbora Krejcikova in the 2021 third round, and the only player to have defeated her at this tournament was Arantxa Rus in the 2020 first round.

Only five other players in the Open Era have won 14 or more consecutive matches in Rome. Swiatek follows in the footsteps of Chris Evert, Conchita Martínez, Gabriela Sabatini, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.

Swiatek improved to 4-0 against Vekic overall. This was their first clay-court encounter. The Croat has won a set only once, in the 2022 San Diego final. This time, Vekic managed to keep matters tight, becoming the first player this tournament to break the Swiatek serve in the first set.

No.24-ranked Vekic sealed that break with a fine drop shot, a tactic that was successful on five out the six occasions she deployed it. But that was the only break point she was able to convert out of seven opportunities. By contrast, Swiatek took all three of her break opportunities on the Vekic serve and found 19 winners compared to her opponent's 14.

Swiatek, Rybakina to resume rivalry: The Roland Garros champion and the reigning Wimbledon champion square off for the fourth time -- and third time this season.

Though Swiatek won their first meeting in the 2021 Ostrava quarterfinals, Rybakina has won both of their 2023 encounters without dropping a set -- indeed, for the loss of just 12 games in total. She knocked Swiatek out of the Australian Open 6-4, 6-4 in the fourth round, then ended the Pole's Indian Wells title defense 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals.

This will be their first pro clay-court meeting, but they have played on the surface once at junior level, also in Italy. Rybakina won the 2017 Milan Grade A final 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-3.

Swiatek's primary memory from that match wasn't focused on the tennis or the result.

"It was [my] first match that was streamed live on the internet," she said. "It really stressed me out. Rookie mistake. But I was really happy to be in the final. It was like I started to believe more a little bit in myself."

Both players played down the significance of their history. Swiatek said that she saw herself neither as the underdog nor the favorite.

"I would say for now I don't have any mindset," she told press after defeating Vekic. "I would say it's kind of neutral. I just want to treat this match as any other one. Coming back to my previous matches against Elena, it doesn't make sense. It was on hard court. I know how I felt. This time I don't have any expectations. I'm just going to come out and play the best game possible."

Rybakina is aware that Rome, more than any other venue on tour, is Swiatek's territory. After her fourth-round defeat of Marketa Vondrousova, she also lowered expectations.

"I think [clay] changes it a lot," she said. "It's more rallies, it's more physical, she has more time, I have more time. I think it's much different than the hard courts for sure.

"I'm not expecting much. For me, it's a practice. I'm taking it this way. Hopefully, it will help me perform at the French Open."

Nonetheless, Rybakina acknowledged the frisson around what is becoming one of the sport's most significant young rivalries.

"I'm not thinking about it so much, but of course I see some comments," she said. "It's good if [fans] think that way and that it's entertaining to see us play against each other. It's a good thing."

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Well the match I've been sort of looking forward to but also dreading has arrived. 

A third meeting with Rybakina. But this time on Iga's favourite surface. I have never wanted a player to avenge a loss more than I want Iga to defeat Rybakina. 

Just to prove to herself that 1 you may have beaten me on hard court twice but I'm still the best on clay and 2 so she doesn't allow Rybakina to get in her head with 3 losses in one season. 

Because Rybakina has been vulnerable this year and definitely when it comes to clay. 

First set will be absolutely crucial given Iga has won 25 matches this year when taking the first set. 

Also serve and forehand will have to be on point to put pressure on Rybakina. And if all else fails take chances on return and defend. 

Don't know if playing at night will be beneficial or not. Although I suppose slower conditions might make the Rybakina serve less effective and give Iga more time on returns.

I'm also hoping that not having a day off due to weather (unlike Rybakina) will keep Iga in a nice match rhythm. Not having a lot of time to think about a match could be a good thing too. 

Most important is that it doesn't rain, there has been way to much rain in Rome this year, I would like at least one night match not interrupted due to weather. 

I'm really nervous about tomorrow, but also have a good feeling, I have faith that on clay (more than any other surface) Iga will find solutions even if things don't start out well. 

Jazda Iga you've got this!

Iga Swiatek wins 12 consecutive games to reach round of 16 in Rome

ROME -- World No.1 Iga Swiatek eased into the Round of 16 at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia after defeating Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 6-0 in the third round on Sunday. The two-time defending champion will face No.21 Donna Vekic next.

Facing Tsurenko for the second time in their careers, Swiatek quickly wiped out any hopes of an upset by the World No.68. Coming off wins over Elina Svitolina and Bernarda Pera to make her first third-round appearance in Rome, Tsurenko broke Swiatek's serve immediately and led 2-0.

Swiatek responded emphatically. The two-time Roland Garros champion dialed in her game and found her margins to reel off 12 consecutive games to win her 27th match of the season and extend her 2023 record on clay to 11-1.

"After a pretty rusty start, I was able to break back pretty quickly, so I'm happy that I played solid game," Swiatek said. "Just have another experience playing on center court, and I'm happy that it wasn't raining."

Breaking down the numbers behind Swiatek's dominant first week in Rome:

13: Consecutive wins for two-time defending champion Swiatek in Rome. This is the longest win streak in Rome since Serena Williams posted 21 consecutive wins from 2012 to 2019.

6: Women to win 13 or more consecutive matches in Rome. Swiatek joins Chris Evert, Conchita Martinez, Gabriela Sabatini, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.

4: Women to win 13 of their first 14 matches in Rome. Swiatek joins the list alongside Monica Seles, Gabriela Sabatini and Chris Evert.

2: Games lost by Swiatek en route to the Round of 16. She won her opener 6-0, 6-0 against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

12: Consecutive games won by Swiatek in both her matches this week in Rome. Against Tsurenko, Swiatek was down 2-0 in the first set before winning every remaining game.

2: Career meetings between Swiatek and Tsurenko. Their first came at Roland Garros last year. Swiatek won that match by the same scoreline, 6-2, 6-0, in just 54 minutes.

22: Winners truck by Swiatek against Tsurenko, while holding Tsurenko to just 2 winners on the day.

6: Breaks of serve by Swiatek against Tsurenko. She generated 10 break points in total.

1: Break point faced by Swiatek in the match. Tsurenko converted it in the first game of the first set.

10: Number of 6-0 sets Swiatek has posted in 2023, the most on tour.

0: Number of losses Swiatek has against her Round of 16 opponent. She is 3-0 against Donna Vekic, with their last match coming in the final of San Diego last fall. Vekic advanced with a comeback win over Liudmila Samsonova, winning 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-2.

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Next up Vekic could be a little tricky and with an extra day to rest due to rain could be a lot more competitive than expected. 

But hoping for another straight sets win. 

Quarter-final is when the real challenges will start. Rybakina has beaten her twice this year. Hopefully Iga can turn the tables and show what she's made of on her best surface. 

Than it's either Badosa/Muchova or Ostapenko in the semis. 

Ostapenko she's 0-3 against won't lie and say her unpredictability makes me very nervous. Muchova's variety dropshots, and coming to the net as well. 

But taking it one match at a time. 

Jazda!.

 

Iga Swiatek sweeps through Rome opener without losing a game

ROME -- World No.1 Iga Swiatek kicked off her title defense at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round on Friday. Swiatek will face either Bernarda Pera or Lesia Tsurenko in the third round.


A two-time defending champion in Rome, Swiatek extended her win streak in the Eternal City to 12 consecutive matches. She is the sixth woman in the Open Era to win 12 or more consecutive matches in Rome, joining Chris Evert, Conchita Martinez, Gabriela Sabatini, Maria Sharapova, and Serena Williams.

Including her 6-0, 6-0 win over Karolina Pliskova in the 2021 final, Swiatek has now posted two perfect scorelines in Rome. Along with Chris Evert, she is just the second player to have multiple 6-0, 6-0 wins in Rome. Since the introduction of the WTA-1000 level in 2009, only Simona Halep has posted more 6-0 sets at this level (7) than Swiatek (6).

"When I'm playing these kind of matches, I'm just trying to be focused," Swiatek said. "It's actually pretty hard to be focused when you are really thinking [about the score]. So I'm trying to remember what got me this nice score, what I should do to continue playing that well. I just want to be consistent in it.

"In my opinion, the score doesn't really matter and it doesn't have any influence on my feeling on the court. I'm just trying to play my best tennis no matter what the score is."

How the match was won: In the first-time meeting between Swiatek and Pavlyuchenkova, Swiatek managed the windy conditions at the Foro Italico to ease herself to the win. Pavlyuchenkova earned her spot in the second round after posting just her second main-draw singles win of an injury-addled season, defeating Sara Errani 6-1, 6-1 in the first round.

Swiatek utilized her kick-serve well to keep Pavlyuchenkova at bay on her own service games. Pavlyuchenkova, herself a Roland Garros finalist in 2021, played a tactically smart match but struggled to consistently land her finishing shots. Her one break point in the match came at 4-0 in the opening set. Pavlyuchenkova did well to open up space for a forehand down the line but fired it long. Swiatek went on to hold.

Down 5-0, Pavlyuchenkova gamely saved six set points from 0-40 down on her serve, but the World No.1's relentless return game finally broke through to seal her tour-leading ninth 6-0 set of the season.

Swiatek's ruthless march continued in the second set, as she ran the table to close out the win after 67 minutes.

Match stats: Swiatek's clean performance was clearly reflected in the post-match numbers. She hit 19 winners to just nine unforced errors in the match. She generated 11 break-point chances and converted six of them, while saving the one break point she faced on her serve. Pavlyuchenkova finished with seven winners to 19 unforced errors. in total, Swiatek won 57 points to Pavlyuchenkova's 29.

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Iga Swiatek gets tough draw at Italian Open as defending champion

The clay-court WTA 1000 events continue on the Hologic WTA Tour with next week's Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. The 96-player main draw was released on Sunday, with 18 of the world's Top 20 players vying for the title.

Main-draw action in the Italian capital will kick off on Tuesday and span 12 days for the first time. The singles and doubles finals will take place on Saturday, May 20.

First quarter


Two-time defending champion and World No.1 Iga Swiatek sits at the top of the draw. Swiatek took the Rome title for the first time in 2021, when she beat Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-0 in the final. Swiatek collected her second straight title last year by beating Ons Jabeur 6-2, 6-2.

After her bye (all 32 seeded players receive first-round byes), Swiatek is guaranteed to meet a former Roland Garros finalist in the second round: either 2014 Rome finalist Sara Errani or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who is on the comeback trail after missing much of last year with an injury.

Swiatek could meet reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals if seedings hold. Before that, No.7 seed Rybakina could potentially face No.9 seed Maria Sakkari in the Round of 16 in a battle between Top 10 players.

Among the other players in this quarter are 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez and two athletes coming back from maternity leave, Barbora Strycova and Elina Svitolina. Svitolina won back-to-back Rome titles in 2017 and 2018.

Second quarter


Last year's runner-up Ons Jabeur tops the second quarter as the No.4 seed, aiming to play her first clay-court WTA 1000 event of the season. Jabeur withdrew from last week's Mutua Madrid Open, where she was the defending champion with a calf injury.

If Jabeur comes back in Madrid, she could meet an extremely dangerous floater in her second-round match after her bye in former World No.2 Paula Badosa. Unseeded Badosa will take on a qualifier in the opening round for the chance to play Jabeur.

No.8 seed Daria Kasatkina resides at the bottom of this quarter and will play an Italian wild card in the second round, either Diletta Cherubini or Lisa Pigato. No.10 seed Barbora Krejcikova is a potential Round of 16 opponent for Kasatkina.

Fourth quarter


No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka brings momentum into the bottom quarter after winning her second Madrid title in the last three years on Saturday. Sabalenka toppled Swiatek on clay for the first time in four attempts to win the WTA 1000 title in Spain.

Reigning Australian Open champion Sabalenka might face a fellow major winner in the second round after her bye, if 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin can get past Cristina Bucsa in the first round.

Another former Australian Open champion, Victoria Azarenka, might await Sabalenka in the Round of 16 if seedings hold. The 2016 Rome finalist and No.19 seed Madison Keys also resides in this section.

No.5 seed Caroline Garcia sits at the other end of this quarter, and she might face Madrid quarterfinalist Petra Martic in the third round and No.12 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the Round of 16.

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Iga Swiatek maintains motivation 'no regrets' after Madrid final loss

World No.1 Iga Swiatek suffered a rare loss on clay when she fell to No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the Mutua Madrid Open final on Saturday, but the Polish player is keeping her fortnight in perspective following the year's first WTA 1000 clay-court event.

"We just played on a good level, but [Sabalenka] was better today," Swiatek said in her post-match press conference. "Maybe sometimes I could be more proactive, but honestly, I think we both played good. I don't have any big regrets."

Swiatek still has a stellar 27-2 win-loss record on clay since the start of 2022, with her only other loss on that surface in that timeframe coming to Caroline Garcia in the 2022 Warsaw quarterfinals.

"Sometimes it's tougher, sometimes it's easier," Swiatek said. "That's why we have variety in tennis, and that's why sometimes players are playing better on some surfaces and some on different [surfaces]. But it doesn't really matter because she won, and I just respect that and I don't want to take it from Aryna."

Despite going home without the title, Swiatek still posted her career-best result in her second appearance in Madrid. She has only lost to Sabalenka and former World No.1 Ashleigh Barty at the event.

"I think [the final] was really tight, and it was a matter of kind of a few centimeters, you know, and sometimes it's in, sometimes it's out," Swiatek said. "But I did my best to keep the intensity and still keep the control here.

"Maybe next year I'm gonna know better if I can do even more or not, but for sure I did 100 percent of what I could, so no regrets."


No.1 Swiatek and No.2 Sabalenka contested their second straight final after Swiatek won their showdown in Stuttgart two weeks ago, cementing their rivalry as the one to watch for the remainder of the clay-court season.

Madrid featured the first WTA 1000 final between the top two players in the rankings since No.1 Serena Williams beat No.2 Li Na to win the 2014 Miami Open.

Also, this is only the third time in the last four decades where the top-two ranked players have met multiple times on clay in a single season. Even more final meetings between the two are possible, with Rome starting next week and Roland Garros looming.

"Me and Aryna, I feel like we're just hard workers," Swiatek said. "I know that she's super professional as well in terms of fitness and other stuff, and we're kind of progressing no matter if we're on top or not, so I think that's why we are kind of solid."

Swiatek will still maintain her position at World No.1 in Monday's updated rankings, although Sabalenka is narrowing the gap. Regardless, Swiatek continues to identify accomplishments beyond the rankings to spur herself on.

"People are saying it's tough to get to the top, but staying at the top is even tougher," Swiatek said. "I don't know, I haven't lived enough to know if that's true or not.

"It's just a matter of not thinking about that you're gonna stay here, but it's more like reaching to other stuff that can motivate you and that you can do better, no matter what position you're in.

"That was the change for me in terms of how I felt at the beginning of the season with the pressure of being World No.1, and how I feel right now."

So proud of Iga. I honestly didn't have high expectations going into this tournament. Given it's only her 2nd time in Madrid, her 2nd try dealing with the altitudes etc. and she goes all the way to the final. 

So no regrets either just whole lot of national pride. 

Little bit of sadness of course, but over all just so happy with how she played and the way she fought in this final. 

Saving 3 match points. 

A point here and there decided it. Otherwise it was pretty evenly matched. A fantastic final. 

Already looking forward to Rome next week, where I get the feeling Iga will be more at home with the slower conditions. 

I knew and Sabalenka knew that if she were to beat Iga on clay it'd be on the faster, higher conditions of Madrid. Rome and Roland Garros will be very different and I can't wait to see it.

Jazda!.

Iga Swiatek reaches career first final in Madrid & another meeting with Sabalenka

World No.1 Iga Swiatek booked a spot in the first Mutua Madrid Open final of her career with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-1 victory over No.12 seed Veronika Kudermetova in a late-night semifinal on Thursday.

Top seed Swiatek took 1 hour and 19 minutes to prevail at the first WTA 1000 clay-court event of the season, improving her dominant head-to-head record against Kudermetova to 4-0. Swiatek has never lost more than six games in a match against Kudermetova.

1 vs. 2 again: For the second straight Hologic WTA Tour event, Swiatek will meet World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Sabalenka won the day’s first semifinal over No.9 seed Maria Sakkari.

Eleven days ago, Swiatek topped Sabalenka in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final in Stuttgart. Overall, Swiatek brings a 5-2 win-loss record against Sabalenka into Saturday’s Madrid final. Swiatek has also won all three of their previous clay-court meetings.

This will be only the third time in the last 40 years that the World No.1 and No.2 will face each other two times on clay during a single season. It also happened in 1984 (Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert in Amelia Island and Roland Garros) and 2013 (Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova in Stuttgart and Roland Garros).

This is also the first time the World No.1 and No.2 will square off in a WTA 1000 final since top-ranked Serena Williams beat second-ranked Li Na for the 2014 Miami Open title.

Streaking Swiatek: Since the start of last season, Swiatek is 27-1 on clay, with her only defeat on the surface during that timeframe coming in the 2022 Warsaw quarterfinals against Caroline Garcia.

By making her seventh career WTA 1000 final this fortnight, Swiatek ties Caroline Wozniacki for the most WTA 1000 final appearances achieved before turning 22 years old (dating back to the start of the WTA 1000 tier in 2009).

Match facts: Kudermetova reached the semifinal via back-to-back Top 10 wins over Daria Kasatkina and Jessica Pegula, but her run was stopped by Swiatek, who won 50 percent of Kudermetova's first-service points and 63 percent of points returning Kudermetova's second serve.

Swiatek won the first seven points of the match en route to a 5-1 lead, then saved a break point in that game with a rally backhand winner before closing out the set.

Top-seeded Swiatek took another commanding 4-1 lead in the second set, but Kudermetova powered to four break points in that game. Swiatek erased each of those chances as she methodically moved to victory without ever dropping serve in the nightcap.

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9-0 on clay in 2023

4 finals in 6 tournaments in 2023

17th career final! 1st in Madrid!

First player to reach 8+ finals in her first 14 WTA tournaments played on clay since Monica Seles (between 1989 and 1992, 13 of the first 14). 

The 3rd player in the Open Era to win all of her first 8 WTA semi-finals held on clay after Peaches Bartkowicz (between 1968 and 1969) and Venus Williams (between 1998 and 2003). Fantastic.

WTA's world number 1 and number 2 are facing each other in back-to-back tournaments for the first time since 

#1  Martina Hingis #2  Lindsay Davenport played the 2000 Indian Wells and Miami finals. 23 years ago. 

And the all black outfit is on point! :).

Iga Swiatek into her first career semis in Madrid

 

World No.1 Iga Swiatek is through to her first semifinal at the Mutua Madrid Open after a 6-0, 6-3 win over Croatia's Petra Martic.

Swiatek was comprehensive from start to finish against No.27 seed Martic, who'd upset former Roland Garros champion and No.11 seed Barbora Krejcikova to earn her shot against Swiatek.

But after just 69 minutes, the World No.1 moved through to set up a semifinal match against Veronika Kudermetova; Kudermetova, seeded No.12, knocked out No.3 seed and defending finalist Jessica Pegula earlier in the day.

"I feel like I'm playing better and better every day," Swiatek said afterwards. "This is pretty great, because I didn't know if that was going to be possible at the beginning of the tournament. But I was patient and I was hoping to get that feeling, and today was for sure a good day."

2: Swiatek improved to 2-0 against Martic in her career with the victory, and both of those matches have come at WTA 1000 events. She previously beat Martic 6-3, 6-1 at the BNP Paribas Open two years ago.

4: Swiatek and Kudermetova will play for the fourth time overall, and second time this year. Swiatek has won all three matches, and dropped just one game when they last met -- in the semifinals of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in February.

"For me, it doesn't really matter what our head-to-head is," Swiatek said. "I'm just going to focus on myself and what I want to do on court, tactically. It's never easy to play a semifinal. In semifinals, there are players who've played already a great tournament. ... I'll just be ready."

7: Swiatek won the first seven games of Wednesday's quarterfinal before Martic got on the board with a hold to 30 in her first service game of the second set.

8: Swiatek lost just eight points in the first set, and seven of those were on her serve. She lost three of those points in the third game of the match, in which she saved a break point before holding to lead 3-0.

She also extended her winning streak on clay this spring to eight straight.

11: Swiatek hit 11 winners in victory to just eight unforced errors, and was a perfect 4-for-4 on break points converted.

17: Conversely, Martic his 17 unforced errors to just eight winners.

19: Swiatek is now 19-2 in quarterfinal matches at WTA level in her career. Both defeats have come on her preferred clay courts: against Maria Sakkari at Roland Garros in 2021, and against Caroline Garcia at her home tournament, the WTA 250 in Warsaw, last year.

27: The opening set lasted just 27 minutes, and marked Swiatek's seventh bagel set won this season.

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Iga Swiatek reaches 1st career quarter-final in Madrid late night thriller

World No.1 Iga Swiatek broke new ground at the Mutua Madrid Open on Monday night, advancing to the quarterfinals of the event for the first time with a gritty 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3 victory over No.16 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Swiatek took 2 hours and 25 minutes to collect the win after a second-set comeback from match point down by last year’s Madrid semifinalist Alexandrova. The clash ended after 1:00 a.m. local time in Madrid.

"That wasn’t an easy match," Swiatek said afterwards. "In the second set, I had the lead and I lost it, so for sure it wasn’t easy, but I’m pretty happy that I could reset in the third. I was ready, I got a break pretty early, so overall I’m happy with the performance."

With a win in their first clay-court meeting, Swiatek edges ahead 2-1 in her overall head-to-head with Alexandrova.

Swiatek will next meet No.27 seed Petra Martic in the quarterfinals. Martic moved into her second career Madrid quarterfinal with a 6-3, 7-6(1) upset of No.11 seed Barbora Krejcikova.

Fast facts: Since the start of 2020, Swiatek has won 44 clay-court matches on the Hologic WTA Tour, more than any other player on this surface during that timeframe.

Despite that, Swiatek has yet to master Madrid. In her only previous appearance at the event, Swiatek fell to Ashleigh Barty in the 2021 Round of 16. Swiatek missed the event last year, in the midst of her 37-match winning streak, due to a shoulder injury.

This year, Swiatek is posting career-best results in the Spanish capital. The World No.1 was forced to three sets for the first time this fortnight on Monday, but she prevailed by converting five of her six break points and winning over half of Alexandrova's second-serve points.

Match moments: Sturdy returns by Alexandrova, coupled with 10 unforced errors by Swiatek in the first four games, gave the No.16 seed an early 3-1 lead. However, Swiatek cleaned up her game and hit only four unforced errors in the next 10 games, easing to a 6-4, 4-1 lead.

However, Alexandrova's powerful game came alive at the tail end of the second set. With Swiatek serving for the match, Alexandrova crushed a backhand return winner to break for 5-4, and then saved a match point with a putaway en route to 5-5. Alexandrova hit three aces in the tiebreak to steal the second set.

But Swiatek regrouped in the third set, with bold returns giving the top seed a quick break for 2-1. Swiatek ended the encounter in dominant fashion, winning the final eight points of the match.

Martic awaits: Earlier on Monday, Martic held off a second-set comeback by Krejcikova in the first meeting between the pair to match her Madrid quarterfinal result from 2019 and set up a showdown with Swiatek.inning over half of Alexandrova's second-serve points.

Krejcikova saved two match points at 5-3 in the second set, and she eventually held four set points of her own at 6-5. But Martic held her nerve to fend all of those set points off and send the second set into a tiebreak, where she dominated 2021 Roland Garros champion Krejcikova.

In their only prior meeting, Swiatek defeated Martic 6-1, 6-3 on the hard courts of Indian Wells in 2021.

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This has to be the most stressed I've ever been watching Iga play on clay. I wasn't even this nervous when she won Roland Garros both times. 

Boy, was this one close, or I guess I  should say a rollercoaster. I actually can't recall Iga losing a set from match point up (at least not on clay).

Iga herself seemed very unhappy at the end of the match despite winning, but with being a perfectionist it makes total sense. 

I however think she should be extremely proud of the way she regrouped mentally after losing the 2nd set. 

Iga of earlier this year would have lost this match, but the Iga that has returned post Aussie Open/Miami injury break is different. Playing on clay probably give her a bit more belief as well. Still extremely impressive. 

Has to feel great to break new ground at one of the few tournaments not yet on her resume. Reaching 8 consecutive quarter-finals on clay is not too shabby either.  

I still think it's ridiculous that a tournament that has been extended to 12 days still has matches that end at 1 am.  Just start the night sessions earlier. 

Iga's next opponent is a bit of a surprise I was sure it was going to be Krejcikova, but I'm definitely not discounting Petra Martic on clay she's another one of those players that has a resurgence every few years. That said I fully expect Iga to get through it anyway.

Jazda!.