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.
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.
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.
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!.
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