Iga Swiatek falls short of the Career Slam at Melbourne

Well it didn't go the way we wanted even though Iga had plenty of chances in the first set with Rybakina serving below 50 percent and clearly feeling nervous. 

Once she relaxed more the aces started to flow and that was pretty much it. 

I will always be left wondering what would have happed had Iga kept that first game break she had and won that first set. 

It might have gone 3 or Iga might have actually won the match being such a great front runner. 

Sadly we'll never know and the Career Grand Slam will have to wait another year. 

While online aka "couch expert" debates rage on about Iga needing to change her coach and firing her sports psychologist, I'm actually feeling encouraged with her post match press comments. 

I'm also encouraged that she's sticking with playing less WTA 1000 tournaments this year. 

It'll be interesting to see which ones she skips (something tells me it won't be the Middle East since she loves the conditions there). 

My bet would be on Indian Wells or Miami.

At the moment her game is very clearly a work in progress, she is changing things but as she herself admits for her it's a slow process and will take time. 

As she says not everyone is Carlos Alcaraz who can change his serve motion every year and have it be a success. 

I think all of us Iga fans got so spoiled with Iga being dominant for so long and winning everything. 

Well the game and other players have evolved Iga's game is going through a period of transition in order to adjust, but I truly believe she'll get there. 

I think like Iga herself the fans will just have to be patient.

Till then we'll support and enjoy things as they are, because they will get better.

Thank you for your efforts Iga.

Stay strong, trust the process and see you in the Middle East.

Jazda!.

Honestly this entire tournament has been a total dud with so many straight set wins on both men's and women's side of the draw. 

I find myself once again rooting for and counting on Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner to go through and bring some excitement on the last Sunday in the finals. 

Because Sabalenka vs Rybakina just doesn't do it for me (sorry WTA).

Iga Swiatek makes it 14 Grand Slam Quarterfinals at Melbourne

 No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek reached her 14th career Grand Slam quarterfinal and third at the Australian Open with a 6-0, 6-3 defeat of qualifier Maddison Inglis in 73 minutes.

There are few new situations for six-time major champion Swiatek on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz at this stage of her career, but this matchup did mark one first for Swiatek. She had never previously faced an Australian opponent at the Australian Open.

Swiatek was unfazed, allowing neither No. 168-ranked Inglis nor the Rod Laver Arena crowd to get a foothold in the match. The first "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" chants rang out as Inglis, trailing 3-0 in the first set, reached her first game point of the day. They didn't last long. Swiatek slammed that door shut by swatting away a smash and minutes later had captured the double break en route to a whitewash set.

Inglis raised her hands to the sky when she finally got on the board at the start of the second set, capturing the Swiatek serve as the former World No. 1 mishit a backhand. But with a point to lead 2-0, she sent a forehand wide, and Swiatek wasted no time in regaining her intensity in another run of four straight games.

Though Inglis battled hard, her increased level frequently provided the canvas for Swiatek to show off more of her repertoire: a superb drop shot-pass combination at 2-1, a brilliant pickup in the subsequent game and several sharp volleys.

Swiatek's one-two punch to convert her first match point set up a quarterfinal clash against No. 5 seed Elena Rybakina. Swiatek leads their head-to-head 6-5 (including 4-2 on outdoor hard courts), but Rybakina won their only previous Australian Open meeting 6-4, 6-4 in the 2023 fourth round.

Not that those numbers are on Swiatek's mind.

"I wouldn't say head-to-head matters," she said. "Because even when one of us was winning, it was always, I don't know, a tight match or she beat me easy. Doesn't matter. Doesn't make sense to overanalyze who won the last ones or how it has been looking.

"Every match is a different story. Like on every match she's been a tough opponent, and her tennis for sure is great. I need to be 100% ready and go for it and use my experience and also the knowledge from previous matches, and that's it."

Here are the key numbers from Swiatek's win:

33: The first set was the 33rd 6-0 set Swiatek has won in a Grand Slam main draw. It was her sixth at the Australian Open, following her defeats of Harriet Dart


(6-3, 6-0 in the 2022 first round), Cristina Bucsa


(6-0, 6-1 in the 2023 third round), Rebecca Sramkova


(6-0, 6-2 in the 2025 second round), Emma Raducanu


(6-1, 6-0 in the 2025 third round) and Eva Lys


(6-0, 6-1 in the 2025 fourth round).


6: Swiatek has reached her sixth consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. At 24 years old, she is the youngest player to accomplish this since Serena Williams between Roland Garros 2002 and Wimbledon 2003. The last time Swiatek lost before the last eight of a major was at Wimbledon 2024, to Yulia Putintseva in the third round.

24: World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has also reached six consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals (she is on an overall streak of 13, not counting her absence from Wimbledon 2024). It's 24 years since two players both reached six major quarterfinals in a row -- the last time was between Wimbledon 2001 and the US Open 2002, when Venus Williams and Jennifer Capriati put together simultaneous streaks.

6: Swiatek's win completes the 2026 Australian Open quarterfinal lineup. It includes all Top 6 seeds in the draw -- No. 1 Sabalenka, No. 2 Swiatek, No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, No. 5 Rybakina and No. 6 Jessica Pegula. 

The last time all Top 6 seeds made the last eight of a major was at the 1998 US Open -- No. 1 Martina Hingis, No. 2 Lindsay Davenport, No. 3 Jana Novotna, No. 4 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, No. 5 Venus Williams and No. 6 Monica Seles.

The last time this occurred at the Australian Open was in 1991 -- No. 1 Stefanie Graf, No. 2 Seles, No. 3 Mary Joe Fernandez, No. 4 Gabriela Sabatini, No. 5 Katerina Maleeva and No. 6 Sánchez Vicario.

The Top 6 ATP seeds have also all reached the quarterfinals this week -- No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, No. 2 Jannik Sinner, No. 3 Alexander Zverev, No. 4 Novak Djokovic, No. 5 Lorenzo Musetti and No. 6 Alex De Minaur. It is the first time in the Open Era that the Top 6 WTA and ATP seeds have all made the last eight of one major.

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Well we've reached the point where the challenge ramps up to a 100. Iga vs Rybakina will be the first real test of where Iga's level is. 

In the past I would have been really anxious with this match up, but Iga has really turned around the H2H in the last year and has figured out what works with Rybakina.  

So I really think if she can find her first serve we could be in for a highly competitive match.

It won't be easy but certainly doesn't feel impossible the way it used to.

I'm still not happy with Iga losing concentration in 2nd sets (granted this one could have just been the 6/0 score line). 

But it's going to be tough to win against the big hitters that are left if she can't keep her level all the way through. 

So I hope she can find a way to lock in and remind everyone again exactly why she's a 6 time Grand Slam Champion.

Jazda Iga, keep that belief and fight.

Iga Swiatek back in week 2 of Aussie Open

 

No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek came through a topsy-turvy three-setter against No. 31 seed Anna Kalinskaya in the Australian Open third round, advancing 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 in 1 hour and 44 minutes.

Swiatek advanced to the second week of a major for the 21st time in 28 main draws, and for the sixth time in eight Australian Open appearances. She'll next face the last home hope -- and the last qualifier -- standing, Maddison Inglis. The World No. 168, who had to save two match points in her first qualifying round against Leyre Romero Gormaz, advanced via walkover after Naomi Osakawithdrew due to a left abdominal injury.

It will be the first time that Swiatek has played a Australian player at the Australian Open. She has faced Inglis on her home turf before, though, winning 6-1, 6-2 in the 2021 Adelaide second round en route to her first hard-court title.

Swings and roundabouts: Momentum swung wildly between Swiatek and Kalinskaya throughout the contest -- and in each set, the player who seized it early on ran away with it. Swiatek was near-flawless on serve in the first set, winning 17 out of 20 points behind her delivery; by contrast, Kalinskaya dropped her opening service game from game point up with a slew of backhand errors, setting the tone for a blink-and-miss-it 24-minute set against her.

After receiving treatment on her back during a medical timeout between sets, Kalinskaya began striking the ball with greater freedom and accuracy in the second set. Having found just three winners in the opener, she fired 10 in the second set. The key game was her hold for 4-1: Swiatek had already broken back once, and held three points to do so again, but Kalinskaya saved all three with unreturned serves.

Swiatek, who had contributed several wild unforced errors in the second set, regained her intensity in the third. She did not face a game point as she leapt out to a 5-0 lead, and though Kalinskaya made her work to close it out in a four-deuce final game, Swiatek landed a forehand winner on the line to convert her second match point.

Swiatek unsurprised by Kalinskaya test: Kalinskaya represented a quietly dangerous test for Swiatek. Her flat, aggressive game style had already garnered her one win over Swiatek, in the 2024 Dubai semifinals, and she pushed Swiatek hard in a 7-6(2), 6-4 loss in last year's US Open third round. Moreover, Kalinskaya had played her part in two of the best matches of this year's Australian Open warmups, stretching Jessica Pegula and Victoria Mboko to tight three-setters in Brisbane and Adelaide respectively.

"It's not surprising for me because I know that Anna can play amazing tennis," Swiatek said of the unusual scoreline. "And on the other hand she's risking a lot, so at the same time she might start playing out. I just wanted to be there when I have a chance, when I have a slower ball, to still be proactive and put pressure on her. I didn't feel I was playing worse in the second set, I felt like she just started playing in all the balls that went out in the first."

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On the one hand these one sided 2nd set performances from Iga still quite worry me (I do miss Iga being the dominant front runner after winning the first and just bulldozing the match). 

But on the other hand Iga recovering so well in the 3rd is encouraging. 

For much of last year she lost matches like these in a very one sided fashion. So there's some positives here  for sure. 

I'm actually a bit disappointed we don't get Iga vs Naomi I think it would have been a good test for Iga to pass, but I'm certainly not completely discounting her Australian opponent. 

If Iga does get through to the quarters I do worry about Tuesday because it'll be played under the roof due to the expected extreme heat that day. And if she ends up having to play Rybakina there that's never ideal. 

But we'll cross that bridge when we get there. 

Jazda Iga, stay strong, believe and keep going.

Iga Swiatek into 3rd round at Melbourne

Iga Swiatek arrived on court Thursday night in Melbourne with several streaks on the line. Chief among them: extend her perfect record against Marie Bouzkova to 3-0, ideally in straight sets once again.

That second part looked shaky when she fell behind by a break in the second set, but the No. 2 seed never truly appeared in danger of losing the match, closing out a 6-2, 6-3 win in 1 hour and 19 minutes.

“It felt great playing today,” Swiatek said in her on-court interview. “I felt more free than in my first round, so I really wanted to go for it. And for sure, the conditions also weren’t easy. I don’t know if you guys feel that, but on the court it’s super windy.

“So I needed to adjust for that, and I’m really happy with the performance for sure.”

The victory sent her into the Australian Open third round for the seventh straight year. She has now reached the third round at 24 consecutive Grand Slam events; her last second-round exit came at the 2019 US Open, where she lost to Anastasija Sevastova

With the result, Swiatek became the first WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz player in the Open Era to reach the Round of 32 at the first 24 women’s singles Grand Slam events of a single decade.

On the approach: At one point early in the second set, Swiatek was a perfect 9-for-9 winning points when approaching the net, a clear weapon for the World No. 2, who repeatedly used forward movement to take control of rallies.

She incorporated this tactic immediately, creeping toward the net before firing a backhand winner by Bouzkova to hold for 1-0. She followed the same blueprint to guide her to a 4-1 hold, affording her a lead she would only build on before claiming the first set in 38 minutes.

Fittingly, she ended the match with one final approach, this time finishing it with a forehand winner to seal the win.

Tour’s best frontrunner: That forehand was one of 31 winners Swiatek hit (compared to just three from Bouzkova), many coming after she built comfortable leads in each set. There’s a saying that fits her game well: give an inch, take a mile. Because, if an opponent offers even a sliver of space, Swiatek tends to take far more.

Exhibit A: the second set. Bouzkova broke for a 2-1 lead and consolidated for 3-1 but left the door open just a crack. Swiatek burst through, converting her third break point of the game to level at 3-3.

In all, she reeled off five straight games to finish the match, taking the lead and never looking back.

Give an inch, take a mile.

What’s next: Swiatek will face No. 31 seed Anna Kalinskaya in the third round.

She leads their head-to-head 2-1, losing in Dubai last season, but winning their two most recent meetings in Cincinnati and at the US Open in straight sets.

  wtatennis.com

Iga Swiatek survives an early challange in Melbourne

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Iga Swiatek advanced to the second round of the Australian Open on Sunday, defeating Yuan Yue 7-6(5), 6-3 after being pushed to a first-set tiebreak.

Swiatek had been far more comfortable in their previous meeting, dropping only three games, but Yuan raised her level this time by extending rallies and holding serve, pushing the first set to a tiebreak before Swiatek closed out the match in two hours.

Swiatek’s composure showed late in the opening set. Yuan served for the set at 5-4 and stayed level through the tiebreak, but Swiatek began to take control of the exchanges, finishing the night with 24 winners. Several landed so close to the lines that Yuan hesitated, a reflection of Swiatek’s precision under pressure.

"There were some moments where I felt great, but the start of the match wasn't that perfect," Swiatek said in press afterward. "I'm happy that I worked through this and could, yeah, finish in two sets as you said. Also during tiebreak play more aggressively and more precise."

Swiatek carried that momentum into the second set, winning the first three games. She won 72% of points on her first serve and took advantage of Yuan’s second serve, capturing 21 of 34 points (62%).

At 4-3 in the second set, Swiatek took the final two games with one more break -- she won nearly half (40-of-82) of receiving points, compared to Yuan's 36% -- and earned her 25th straight Grand Slam first-round win on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.

Yuan, who won three qualifying matches to enter the first round, jumped out to an early lead with a break of Swiatek and a hold in the first set. She often matched Swiatek's power in their rallies, and Swiatek racked up 21 unforced errors to Yuan's 13 in the first set. Compared to their first meeting where Yuan had just one break point opportunity, she converted 3-of-7.

Though Swiatek tied the first set at 3-3, Yuan's next two games followed a similar pattern with a break and hold, setting herself up with two games to close the first set. Swiatek bounced back winning three of the next four games to force the tiebreak, which Yuan managed to win five points.

In the second set, after falling 3-0 and taking a medical timeout for a lower back issue, Yuan won three of the next four, including a 16-point, 10-minute game to cut the deficit to 4-3.

"I think she played well," Swiatek said of her opponent. "She used the opportunities that I gave her a bit. Yeah, was kind of playing pretty strong from the forehand side. She was for sure going for her shots, playing fast. Yeah, she played good."

In the first set tiebreak, Yuan and Swiatek alternated points up until Swiatek led 5-4. During the the 10th point of the tiebreak, Yuan kept traded strong shots back-and-forth, but an incidental net cord forced Swiatek to come to the net.

The World No. 2 had several backhand winners, but none more momentous than this one. Despite the net cord, Swiatek's quick adjustment allowed her to smash home a backhand winner -- she had 15 winners in the first alone -- and create a double set point opportunity. Though Yuan saved one with an ace, another Swiatek backhand winner ended the set.

wtatennis.com

This turned out to be more of a challenge then many expected, but maybe these kinds of matches will allow Iga to find her form and play her way into the 2nd week and the tournament overall. 

I do love that Iga used her supreme athleticism to her advantage and extended points instead just trying to overpower and bash the ball outside the lines (which she so often does when in panic mode). 

But  she really kept it together and found a way though as great champions so often do. 

Made me really proud. 

I hope she remembers this as the challenges get harder because they definitely will. 

Jazda!

 

Iga Swiatek loses heartbreaking semi at Aussie Open

 Well it happened, for the first time in her young career Iga lost a match from a set and match point up. A score line of 7/5 1/6 6/7 (10/8)

And it hurts, I can only imagine how Iga must have felt in the moment absolutely devasted no doubt. So close to becoming the first ever Polish Australian Open finalist. 

We were one point away from the first ever Iga vs Aryna meeting in a Slam final *sigh*

This match give me flashbacks to Wimbledon 2019 when Roger Federer lost to Djokovic with 2 match points on his serve. Never a fun one to remember as a Federer fan.

As Iga herself said in post match, that's sport for you, sometimes it just doesn't go your way. Obviously I still think that sooner rather than later Iga will finally get there. Being 23 she certainly has time on her side. 

But even knowing that, it still feels like today was such a huge lost opportunity. The draw this year was probably the most favorable Iga received in years. Playing at night in the slower conditions barely losing games to get to the semis, seemed like the stars were aligned. And yet. 

It was quite a nervy match from both lots of breaks of serve, but Iga still managed to steal the first set.

Quite a few unforced errors as wel  l. I think the nerves really effected the serve too just wasn't there for her in key moments, like 7-5 in the 10 point super tiebreak. 

 She was ahead in the breaker at least 3 times all she needed was one good unreturned serve and it could have completely turned the outcome on it's head. With 7 double faults and zero aces however hard not to feel pressure when you can't rely on your serve for some free points. 

Granted the fact that she still got to a tiebreak with twice as many unforced errors as winners is commendable. It shows real progress, Iga of last year probably would have completely panicked, overhit and lost this in straight sets. 

But today she really fought to the very end. And it was truly one of those tiebreaks that could have gone either way.

I have to give Madison Keys her due I didn't expect her to hold up physically after winning Adelaide and having so many 3 setters here. Respect. 

Will  she have enough to stop Aryna Sabalanka from becoming the 3rd player in history to 3peet at Aussie Open?. Honestly I think at this point the only person left who can stop Sabalenka is Sabalenka herself.

It may not have been the result we all wanted today, but looking at the positives she made her first semi in Australia in 3 years. 

Playing at night under the roof (probably her least fave conditions) on a fast hardcourt with a big hitter all things that everyone kept saying were not favorable to her ever winning in Aus. 

Yet she still almost pulled off the win.

With a new coach she's only been working with a few months. I saw her come to the net more often in this match then I have in the past 3 years. 

If she keeps working on it, you never know might finally be able to do something big on the grass of Wimbledon.

Everything is still a work in progress, but she made huge strides and with Wim at her side I'm absolutely certain it'll only get better. 

The season has only just begun, plenty of chances to improve and strive for more. 

Hold your head up high Iga, you give it your all and fought your heart out. You did Poland proud as always. 

As the saying goes you learn more from losses then victories. This will only make you stronger.

To paraphrase the great Sir Andy Murray you're getting closer. Rest up champ. See you on the tour in February.

Onward to the next.

Jazda!

Iga Swiatek makes 2nd career semi final at Australian Open

 

MELBOURNE -- World No.2 Iga Swiatek needed 89 minutes to make her first Grand Slam semifinal outside Roland Garros since winning the 2022 US Open. On Wednesday, the five-time major champion eased past No.8 Emma Navarro 6-1, 6-2 in the Australian Open quarterfinals.

Swiatek, 23, is the youngest player to reach seven Grand Slam semifinals since Maria Sharapova reached her seventh at the 2006 US Open. She has lost just 14 games en route to the semifinals, the fewest since Sharapova in 2013 (9). Only Sharapova, Monica Seles in 1991 (12) and Stefanie Graf in 1989 (13) have dropped fewer games to make the Australian Open semifinals in the Open Era since the tournament moved to 128-player draws.

Swiatek made her first hard-court Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open in 2022, where she lost to Danielle Collins. She will face another American for a spot in the final when she takes on No.14 Madison Keys. A champion in Adelaide two weeks ago, Keys notched her tour-leading 12th win of the season by defeating Elina Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the earlier quarterfinal.

The singles semifinals will be played on Thursday evening at Melbourne Park. Swiatek and Keys will follow the first semifinal between World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and No.12 Paula Badosa. If Sabalenka and Swiatek advance to Saturday's final, the blockbuster showdown will determine who leaves Melbourne Park as the Hologic WTA Tour World No.1.

In their first meeting since 16-year-olds at an ITF event in 2018, Swiatek broke first to lead 2-0 and took immediate control of the match. On a blustery day at Melbourne Park, Swiatek tapped into her aggressive clay-court style to push Navarro around the court, with deft and patient use of her topspin forehand. After pocketing the first set in 35 minutes, Swiatek was put under more consistent pressure in the early stages of the second set.

Navarro, playing in her third consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, earned her first break point of the match with Swiatek serving at 2-2. Swiatek wiped out that sole chance and broke in the next game. In all, Navarro managed to take Swiatek to deuce in three service games in the second set, but the former No.1 stood tall to finish her day perfect from the service line. She has not been broken in her last four matches.

With an eye towards reclaiming the No.1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek is the only semifinalist who has yet to drop a set in the tournament. Since her 6-3, 6-4 win over Katerina Siniakova in the first round, Swiatek has not lost more than 2 games in a set.

wtatennis.com

For just the 2nd time in her young career Iga Swiatek is back in semi-finals of the Australian Open. I have waited 3 long years for this. And it feels so damn good to say. 

The way she took charge from the get go on return of Navarro's serves today took me back to 2022 and the way she kept doing that to all her opponents for 37 straight matches. 

Simply remarkable. Navarro definitely pushed her in the 2nd set I'd say more so than Siniakova in round 1. 

And the set was a lot closer than the score makes it seem.  Lot's of extended physical rallies.

The way she used her speed, and played aggressive but with margin, and patiently waited for the right time to strike was just a joy to see. I have no doubt a lot of this is Wim Fisette's influence. 

Madison Keys her next opponent is always such an unknown, someone who's capable of knocking anyone off the court but also someone who can really go off, lose focus and become an error machine during a match. 

I guess it depends on how her opponent handles the highs and lows and whether they can take advantage. The one win Keys has over Iga was in Cincinnati where she did knock her off the court in quite quick conditions. 

Don't think that'll be the case here however. 

There's a few factors at play like this being a Grand Slam semi (instead of a tournament) Madison's 2nd ever Grand Slam semi if I recall correctly as well. 

So the occasion and nerves will definitely play a huge part. I think if Iga serves well, keeps it close score wise and gets Madison moving she has more than a good chance. It won't be easy, but definitely not impossible. 

Especially given Iga hasn't actually lost a set and unlike the 2022 semi didn't play a 3 hour marathon prior to it. So energy and physically-wise she'll be more than ready. 

Also unlike Cincinnati and the blazing hot sun, here they'll be playing at night where conditions should be much slower due to it being colder. 

I am glad she got things done in straight sets considering she has to play back to back days (today and tomorrow) unlike Sabalenka and Badosa who had a day off. 

Words can't express how badly I want this win for her. After everything she has been through the last few months it'd just feel so damn good. 

And it would finally shut everyone up regarding Iga not being able to play on a fast hard court.

Jazda Iga!, Poland is behind you and believes in you. 

Go out there and play your best like you've been showing the past 2 weeks. 

In fact forget about everything and everyone else just play for you. 

Iga Swiatek back in the quaterfinals of Australian Open

 

No.2 seed Iga Swiatek swept into the Australian Open quarterfinals for the second time with a 6-0, 6-1 defeat of lucky loser Eva Lys in 59 minutes.

The five-time major champion has dropped just 11 games in four matches so far, seven of which were lost in the first round to Katerina Siniakova.

The Pole remains in contention to reclaim the World No.1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka next Monday. Sabalenka will need to defeat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Tuesday's quarterfinal in order to stay ahead of Swiatek. If Swiatek also wins her quarterfinal, Sabalenka will need to reach the final. If the pair meet in the final, the winner will walk away with the World No.1 ranking.

Here are the key numbers from Swiatek's fourth-round rout:

8: This is the eighth time this century that a player has reached the Australian Open quarterfinals for the loss of 11 games or fewer. Swiatek matches the 2024 accomplishment of Sabalenka, who also dropped 11 games to make the last eight and went on to win the title.

The other six runs were by Maria Sharapova (5 games in 2013, lost in semifinals); Serena Williams (8 games in 2013, lost in quarterfinals); Martina Hingis (9 games in 2002, lost in final); Kim Clijsters (10 games in 2002 and 2003, lost in semifinals both years); and Victoria Azarenka (11 games in 2016, lost in quarterfinals).

2: Swiatek improves to 2-0 against Lys, whom she defeated in the 2022 Stuttgart second round -- Lys' first WTA main draw. Ahead of the rematch, Lys recalled that despite the 6-1, 6-1 scoreline, the "amazing rallies" they had played had boosted her confidence. Their second encounter played out in a similar way. Lys intermittently engaged Swiatek in superb exchanges, and even won a handful of them -- with a battle of backhand angles in the second set being the most memorable. Yet she won one fewer game, and lasted three fewer minutes, than in Stuttgart.

"For sure I'm happy that I played in an efficient way," said Swiatek. "I felt pretty confident. So from the beginning I just pushed. I knew that I could make an impact with that."

28: Swiatek once again delivered imperious form, striking 28 winners to Lys' seven -- including five clean return winners. She kept her unforced error tally to 18, compared to Lys' 15.

2: Lys held two break points in the entire match -- both in the very first game. A service winner from Swiatek fended off the first, and Lys sent a backhand long on the second. They would be Lys' only game points of the entire opening set. In total, Swiatek dropped just nine points on serve all match.

13: Lys' loss means that, for a second consecutive major, every player remaining in the last eight has ben to this stage of a Slam before. The last time there were no new Grand Slam quarterfinalists in back-to-back majors wa  s 13 years ago, at Roland Garros and Wimbledon 2012.

1-0: Swiatek leads the head-to-head against her quarterfinal opponent, No.8 seed Emma Navarro, 1-0. Their only previous encounter was back in 2018 in the first round of an ITF W80 event in Charleston on green clay, when both players were 17 years old. Swiatek, a qualifier ranked No.422, defeated No.1124-ranked wild card Navarro 6-0, 6-2, and went on to reach the semifinals (where she lost 6-1, 6-1 to Madison Brengle).

"For sure, I have to treat Emma as a player that I never played," said Swiatek. "We both made huge progress since that time that we faced each other. Her journey has been pretty nice and amazing. I saw the US Open matches. She played really well, fighting for every point and everything."

wtatennis.com

Finally another quarterfinal at Australian Open. It feels so good to say that. Been a long 3 years since she's made it this far.

Another flawless performance from Iga, barely lost any games in week 1. Still extraordinary. 

Sure maybe the opponents haven't been as tough. But still. The discipline it takes to keep that sort of focus is outstanding.

Her next opponent Navarro will definitely test her perhaps even more than Siniakova, but if Iga goes about her game and keeps a level head like she has been I think she'll definitely handle it. 

Navarro is quite fit but she has played 3 sets in all her matches so that's bound to catch up with her, and physicality is certainly something Iga can use to her advantage.

Jazda Iga!. 

Let's get those semis!.

10 - Iga Swiatek is the youngest player to achieve their 10th Women’s Singles QFs in Major events since Svetlana Kuznetsova at the Australian Open 2009. Accelerate.-Opta Ace stat

Iga Swiatek into the 2nd week at Aussie Open

In a third-round clash between Grand Slam champions, World No.2 Iga Swiatek of Poland stormed past Emma Raducanu of Great Britain 6-1, 6-0 on Saturday afternoon at the Australian Open.

"For sure I felt great," Swiatek said in press. "I felt like the ball is listening to me. So just pretty loosened up. At the end I felt like all the tactics and everything I wanted to do, I was able to. So I just kept going."

The two marquee names had won the US Open in back-to-back seasons (Raducanu as a qualifier in 2021, Swiatek as World No.1 in 2022), but today on Rod Laver Arena, Swiatek had the upper hand from start to finish as she collected victory in 70 minutes.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek is still in contention to reach her first Australian Open final. Her career-best result in Melbourne is a semifinal run in 2022, where she lost to Danielle Collins.

Gunning for the top spot: Moving forward into the Round of 16, Swiatek is still in the running to reclaim the World No.1 ranking she lost to Aryna Sabalenka at the end of last year.

If two-time defending champion Sabalenka does not make this fortnight's semifinals, Swiatek will return to World No.1 after the Australian Open. Otherwise, results from the final four will determine who exits Melbourne at the top of the PIF Rankings.

Confidence bests confidence: Raducanu came into the clash ranked World No.61, over 230 spots higher than she was at this time last year while she was recovering from wrist surgery.

Raducanu had also picked up her first two Top 10 wins during last summer's grass-court season, beating Jessica Pegula at Eastbourne and Maria Sakkari at Wimbledon. She was aiming for her first win over a current Top 4 player today.

Swiatek, though, was in a very familiar spot, playing in the third round of a Grand Slam for the 20th straight major. She is only the fourth player in the Open Era to make this round at 20 consecutive Grand Slam events, joining Martina Navratilova, Conchita Martinez and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.

In the end, Raducanu's recent surge could not overcome Swiatek's self-belief at these stages. Swiatek is likely aware that she is currently the active player with the highest winning percentage at Grand Slams (86-18, 82.7 percent) and she was brimming with that confidence throughout.

Tactics pay off: Swiatek started the match trying to take the Raducanu forehand out of play. En route to 5-1, Swiatek hit only one serve to the Brit's forehand, and she aimed a majority of her groundstrokes at Raducanu's backhand side as well. Raducanu was unable to hit a backhand winner in the first set (Swiatek had three).

Swiatek was helped along in the first set by consistent and effective serving. She got two-thirds of her first serves into play and won 91 percent of them (11 for 12). She also went 5-for-6 behind her second serves, hitting only one double fault as she claimed the one-set lead.

There wasn't much to change in the second set as Swiatek kept Raducanu at bay. Raducanu made her last stand at 5-0, grabbing two break points in an attempt to avert the bagel, but Swiatek stayed steely to prevail. Swiatek now leads Raducanu 4-0 in their head-to-head.

"I just try to have the same kind of attitude and same kind of focus no matter what the score is," Swiatek said. "I'm just playing my game. If it's working, why stop?

"I've also seen many matches when someone was back [after] being down like 2-5 or something. You always have to just keep going. It's not over till it's over."

Lucky loser Lys awaits: Swiatek hasn't lost to a player ranked outside the Top 50 since 2023 Wimbledon, when she fell to former World No.3 Elina Svitolina, who was then on the comeback trail after maternity leave.

Swiatek will next face another player ranked outside the Top 50 in the Round of 16: lucky loser Eva Lys of Germany. In a match between two players contesting their first Grand Slam third-round match, Lys beat Jaqueline Cristian of Romania 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday.

World No.128 Lys has now become the first lucky loser to reach the Australian Open fourth round since the tournament moved here to Melbourne Park in 1988. She is the first lucky loser into any Grand Slam fourth round since Elina Avanesyan at 2023 Roland Garros.

Lys has now defeated Cristian in all four of their meetings -- and has come back from a set down in every single one of those occasions.

wtatennis.com

That is some score line. I honestly thought it'd be close given their last meeting in Stuttgart. 

Another really great day at the office for Iga. 

Seems to be flowing with confidence at the moment and actually really enjoying her tennis. It's good to see. 

Has a huge chance to make the quarters now.

Jazda!.

Iga Swiatek sets up 3rd round with Emma Raducanu at Aussie Open

MELBOURNE -- Iga Swiatek eased into the third round at the Australian Open after defeating Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova 6-0, 6-2 in the second round.

Swiatek has now won her last 40 matches in the first two rounds at a Grand Slam. Her opening set over Sramkova is her 24th 6-0 set at a Grand Slam since the start of 2020. Aryna Sabalenka is the next best over that span with nine.


Three questions after another clinical march from the World No.2:

After coming through a physically grueling week at the United Cup, where she led Poland back to the finals with great wins over Karolina Muchova, Katie Boulter and Elena Rybakina, Swiatek has enjoyed a smooth ride so far at Melbourne Park.

She started her week with a 6-3, 6-4 win over doubles No.1 Katerina Siniakova. On Thursday, she needed just an hour to power past Sramkova. In relatively mild and breezy conditions, Swiatek struck 16 winners to 14 unforced errors and did not face a break point. She dominated off the ground, winning 20 of the 26 rallies that lasted five shots or more.

So far, Swiatek has been keeping an efficient stat sheet. She has hit more winners than unforced errors, 33 to 29, and she's winning 81 percent of her first-serve points. That latter stat puts her second among all remaining players, just behind Elena Rybakina and tied with Clara Tauson.

Swiatek will take on 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the third round. Raducanu came through a tough second-round draw against Amanda Anisimova, coming from a break down in both sets to seal a 6-3, 7-5 win and make the third round at Melbourne Park for the first time.

Anisimova will rue her chances in her first meeting against her friend. The American was two points from a 4-1 lead in the first set before losing five consecutive games. She burst out to a 3-0 lead in the second set but, again, could not protect her advantage.

Raducanu needed a medical timeout in the second set but hopes the discomfort she felt is the natural consequence of playing her first string of matches since the end of last season.

"I think it's almost to be expected when you haven't played a match in so long," Raducanu said, "and then to have two really physical ones, yeah, I think small niggles are going to come up here and there. I'm just hoping that it is that. I was able to push past some pain today, but yeah, I'm going to just try and recover as best as possible over the next day."

Swiatek is undefeated against No.61 Raducanu, winning all three meetings without losing a set. Their last clash came on the clay at Stuttgart last year. Swiatek won 7-6(2), 6-3 in the quarterfinals.


With her win over No.49 Sramkova, Swiatek has now won her last 16 matches against opponents ranked outside the Top 20. While the numbers are stacked in Swiatek's favor, the third round was her bugbear last year. She fell in the third round at two of the four Grand Slams, including at Melbourne Park, where she bowed out to big-hitting Linda Noskova. She also lost in the third round at Wimbledon to Yulia Putintseva.

Swiatek and Raducanu are junior contemporaries who won their first Grand Slams as teenagers. While Swiatek's ascension continued, injuries have hampered Raducanu's follow-up seasons.

"Everybody's story is different, and everybody struggles with different stuff, but it doesn't matter," Swiatek said. "When we're going to be out there on the court, whoever is going to play better will win, and that's it. I'll just focus on tennis.

"For sure we have different stories, but before the match, I'm not going to really think about that. I'll just prepare based on how she plays now and that's it."

Raducanu agreed. The 22-year-old has never been tempted to compare her last few years to Swiatek's.


"Of course I've seen her win a lot, but I also know that we've had very different paths," Raducanu said. "I know that she was playing since a very young age, and my hours in comparison were probably a bit comical when I was 17, 18 playing six hours a week (laughing). I don't think it was the same trajectory."

Swiatek has not lost a set en route to the third round and her progress has a significant impact on her quest to retake the PIF WTA Rankings No.1 from Aryna Sabalenka after Melbourne.

Going into the first Grand Slam of the season, three players had a chance to leave Melbourne Park with the top spot: Sabalenka, Swiatek, and No.3 Coco Gauff. By making the third round, Swiatek has ended Gauff's chances at No.1 and changed the calculation for Sabalenka, who now must make the semifinal for a chance to hold on to the top spot. That line will continue to move if Swiatek continues her progress through the tournament.

"There was a lot of pressure starting the year as No.1, but I think overall last year I didn't think about it this much anyway," Swiatek said. "Also, I realized last year that I don't have 100 percent influence on what happens with my ranking sometimes. So now I just focus on tennis. If I play well, I know I'll be back at No.1. If I don't and Aryna plays better, she'll be No.1.

"I think it's just smarter to focus on tennis, and the ranking will come after that."

wtatennis.com

Really good match from Iga. Seemed even more self assured then in her first match and changing courts as well from John Cain to Rod Laver. 

Granted this opponent wasn't able to make Iga feel any pressure the way Raducanu might. But if Iga serves well and if need be makes it physical she'll definitely have the upper hand. 

But I am expecting it to be close score-wise. 

Jazda Iga, you've got this! let's go for the 2nd week.
 

Iga Swiatek starts Australian Open with a solid opener

 

The courts at Melbourne Park are not always the easiest for Iga Swiatek to navigate.

But when she steps onto them for first-round matches at the Australian Open, she’s tough to stop.

The world No.2 improved to a flawless 7-0 in AO first-round matches, and 23-1 overall at this stage of a Grand Slam tournament, by seeing off the challenge of Katerina Siniakova.

The talented Czech is ranked 50th and is currently the world No.1 doubles player, but Swiatek has spent a cumulative 125 weeks atop the singles rankings, and it showed at John Cain Arena on Monday.

Her 6-3 6-4 win, achieved in a tidy one hour, 21 minutes, saw her finish with more winners than unforced errors, almost 80 per cent of first-serve points won, and not a single double fault.

It was almost as clean as it could get for a tournament opener, a win setting up a second-round clash with Slovak Rebecca Sramkova.

The Pole was told by a reporter that she was the only woman this decade to reach the second round at every Slam she had played.

“Yeah, I know,” she replied, then added with a smile: “I think I only lost once in the first round. It was at Wimbledon in 2019. I wish I didn't play so my stat would be perfect.”

It’s pretty close to perfect – she has now won 21 first-round Grand Slam matches in a row.

“I'm happy. It shows that I'm consistent,” she continued. “I'm just more confident before a Slam, even playing the first match. I know that no matter what's going to happen, I have kind of this stat.

“I should just do what I always do, and it will be good.”

It’s been extremely good for Swiatek at Roland Garros, where she is a four-time champion and boasts an outstanding 35-2 record in Paris.

In Australia, wins have been harder to come by, with the Pole failing to reach the quarterfinals in her past two visits after a semifinal finish in 2022 – her best result Down Under.

It could be a different story at AO 2025 for Swiatek, who arrives in Melbourne with new coach Wim Fissette as well as a dedicated hitting partner in her team, something she did not have here 12 months ago.

Signs have been encouraging so far, with Swiatek winning five of her six matches on Australian hard courts this season. The only loss came in the United Cup final to Coco Gauff who, along with world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, sits in the opposite half of the draw to Swiatek.

Sabalenka and Gauff are considered by most to be the title favourites, while Swiatek has slipped somewhat under the radar in such discussions. Coincidentally, this was reflected in the order of play, with Sabalenka and Gauff beginning their AO 2025 campaigns at Rod Laver Arena while Swiatek, for the first time in three years, competed at John Cain Arena.

This was by no means an example of Swiatek being slighted. Monday’s order of play was one of the densest in AO first-round history, with superstars Swiatek, Gauff, Naomi Osaka, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic all in action on Day 2.

Observed Australian champion Sam Stosur on the eve of the tournament: “There's a lot of decisions ahead for schedulers – what court are we gonna put all these guys on and when do we find the spaces?”

Swiatek didn’t mind returning to JCA for the first time since her second-round win over Rebecca Peterson at Australian Open 2022.

In fact, the court assignment brought back great memories.

“Honestly, I love playing here on every stadium. On John Cain I played some amazing matches,” she said.

“I remember with [Anett] Kontaveit, we played fourth round. That was my first chance to go on to the quarters on hard courts. Also some nice tournaments, nice matches.

“I like this court."

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Not a bad start for Iga. Showed some solid hitting. Sramkova could be tricky but if Iga stays focused I see her taking it in 2. 

I think Iga will only get better as the matches goes on. 

Maybe they should put her on John Cain more often flying under the radar could be good and help her relax with all the attention on center.

Iga Swiatek's Australian Open journey ends with a positive outlook

MELBOURNE -- World No.1 Iga Swiatek dismissed any concerns after her surprising third-round loss at the Australian Open at the hands of 19-year-old Czech Linda Noskova. In fact, in comparison to her Round of 16 loss to Elena Rybakina in 2023, Swiatek says she leaves Melbourne with a healthier perspective.

"Last year, I felt like much more off the balance," Swiatek told reporters after the match. "I felt like the whole season may be just tough because of the start. I was expecting much more.

"This year I was more focused on just not the results and not the rankings but my game a little bit more. This year I feel like I just want to get back to work. I know I'm going to have plenty of chances during the season to show my game."

Swiatek leaves Australia with a 7-1 start to her season. After going undefeated at the United Cup for Poland, she picked up two more wins in Melbourne to take her win streak, the second longest of her career, to 18 matches. Noskova ended the streak there with a fearless display of aggressive baseline tennis.

Swiatek has not progressed past the Round of 16 in Melbourne since making the semifinals in 2021. Despite her scintillating performances in Perth and Sydney to start the year, the 21-year-old Swiatek admitted something just didn't click this year when she arrived at Melbourne Park.

"For sure I was more stressed than on other tournaments, especially first two rounds," she said. "But I think some things just didn't work as they did before, even though I was working the same way.

"I feel like I did really everything I could in preseason to improve some stuff that I wanted to. Then I came here and I wasn't playing natural anymore. My split step was too late sometimes. Reaction a little bit slower."

Regardless of what happens for the remainder of the tournament, Swiatek's No.1 ranking remains intact. With World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka defending 2,000 points from her title run last year, Swiatek will remain No.1 into February. Her next scheduled stops will be the back-to-back WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha, where she is the two-time defending champion, and Dubai, where she made the final last year.

"I lost but I'm going to have more tournaments," Swiatek said. "I remember just last year getting back to work. I could reset and just focus on the next tournaments. So I'm going to do the same this year."

wtatennis.com

It's been a few hours, and a very late night (morning really) and I'm still processing it all. Strangely this loss doesn't hurt as bad as some of the others. Maybe because I went into it with low expectations after seeing Iga's draw. 

But as is often the case my hopes/expectations rose when 2 of Iga's difficult rivals Rybakina and Ostapenko went out of the tournament (one right before her match). 

I often blame the media for jumping the gun and hyping things up when something like this happens because no matter what in this sport the old adage of  one match at a time still applies. 

All in all Iga didn't play a bad match far from it in fact. It was high quality from both. She didn't give up and fought to the end. 

I thought they were actually pretty evenly matched overall. Difference was her opponent was steadier in the key moments and even at the very end. 

Solid over all with blistering backhands that caused Iga all kinds of trouble. And a much better serve on the day. 

The first serve allowed her to get a lot of free points (had a total of 10 aces). Compared to Iga who  couldn't find her fist serve in the final set especially and it made things exponentially harder. Having to fight in every service game just to stay even. 

There was a moment where Noskova was serving for the match where Iga give it one last push and had love 30 if not for a bad volley at the net the whole outcome of the match could have changed (with her opponent having to defend 3 breakpoints instead). But there's no point in wondering about what ifs. 

After losing the first set her opponent changed tactics and seemed to relax more (probably because she felt like she had nothing to lose) whereas it was the opposite for Iga. She was the one who got more tense as it went on. 

A lot of people on social media kept mentioning that Iga wasn't playing at her best level from the start (not the way she was at United cup and the end of the year) forehand wasn't working lot's of errors etc. and sure there's probably a lot of truth in that. 

I thought that maybe one of the reasons for this performance was that Iga's first 2 matches were quite long and taxing not just physically but mentally as well. 

Something she's never really had to deal with before typically taking care of her opponents with ease in the early rounds of a Slam.

It would have certainly explained her concentration lapses and why she kept getting distracted with people moving round between games (which she knew is the new rule being introduced).  

However Iga herself disputed all this in her post match interview presser so I guess I'm way off base there.

The Australian Open just continues to be a place she's not comfortable at, or I guess more specifically the fast paced courts. 

For the moment it remains one of Iga's worst Grand Slams (2nd only to the grass of Wimbledon), but while it may not have worked out this year again I firmly believe that with Iga being only 22, one day everything will align and the title will be hers.

And it'll feel all the more sweet when it happens. 

So while the disappointment may be big right now for both Iga and her fans, in the grand scheme of things it'll be okay. 

This is only the first tournament of the year after all we have a whole season of tournaments ahead. Plus the Olympics which I know Iga will be making a priority.

It may not have been her best level, or the result we all wanted. But I enjoyed what we got and I'm proud of the fight nonetheless.  I think we as fans often take her losses harder than Iga herself which is one of the weirdest things about sport really. 

I was glad to see that the messages people were sending her after this loss were largely positive instead of all the hate she and her team kept receiving last year. Good to know people learned to censor themselves before spewing their anger on social media. 

I hope she gets some well deserved rest and relaxation now and allows that knee of hers to heal a bit. Before getting back to work next month. 

On to the Middle East.

Jazda!

Iga Swiatek comes back from brink of defeat to reach Aussie Open 3rd round

MELBOURNE -- Iga Swiatek was taken to the limit by Danielle Collins, but the World No.1 came from a double-break down in the third set to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the second round of the Australian Open. Swiatek trailed 4-1 in the final set before winning five consecutive games to cap off a stunning comeback.

"Oh my god, I was at the airport already," Swiatek said jokingly on the court.

"It wasn't easy. I felt like I had the momentum going and then she started playing suddenly two times faster and I had no idea how to react to that for a couple of games. But I came back, and I thought the only thing I could focus on was myself. I stopped caring how she's going to play, I just focused on myself."

The victory extended Swiatek's active win streak to 18 consecutive matches, the second longest win streak of her career. She is now the sixth player since 2000 to achieve multiple streaks of 18 WTA-level wins after Serena Williams, Justine Henin, Venus Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Lindsay Davenport.

Match notes: In a rematch of the 2022 Australian Open semifinal, Collins proved once again that her aggressive return game could unsettle Swiatek. On the same court two years ago, Collins hit Swiatek off the court to win 6-4, 6-1 to advance to her first major final.

Though the 30-year-old has seen her ranking drop to No.62 since that run, Collins channeled her Top 10-level tennis to keep the result in the balance until the late stages of the match.

Collins entered the match off a three-set victory over Angelique Kerber in the first round. Though she lost her last three meetings against Swiatek, which all came last season, Collins executed her game plan to perfection on Thursday.

How the match was won: With the match commencing under open air, Collins broke serve to lead 3-1 before a poor service game gave Swiatek the break right back. After the roof was closed due to rain at 3-3, the duo exchanged holds until Swiatek dug in to save game points and break Collins with physical play from the baseline. She held serve to seal the 78-minute rain-interrupted set.

Swiatek continued her charge by breaking for a 1-0 lead in the second set. Collins responded with a surge. Behind her big returns flat strokes pulling Swiatek into the tramlines, Collins reeled off five consecutive games. She hit just three unforced errors during that stretch. Swiatek saved four set points to get one break back, and wiped out another to hold and close the gap to 5-3.

Serving for the set for a second time, Collins got herself over the line and snuffed out Swiatek's thoughts of a comeback. Swiatek struggled to land her returns and Collins held serve at love to take the match into a third set.

After the set break, Swiatek returned to the court with a black band below her left knee and Collins pounced. With Swiatek struggling to find the length on her forehand, Collins earned two break points at 1-1, 15-40 with a clean backhand return winner. She broke two points later with the exact same shot, a devastating return that put her in the lead. Collins raced to a 4-1 lead after breaking Swiatek for a second time in the set.

Turning point: With the match seemingly out of her grasp, Swiatek slowed things down and methodically began her march back. She broke at love after Collins double-faulted and then saved three break points to hold to 4-3. With Collins now leaking more baseline errors, Swiatek put herself back on serve with yet another break, before holding at love to lead 5-4.

Having seen her lead evaporate in the blink of an eye, Collins fell behind at 15-40 as she served to stay in the match. The American did well to save two match points, but a perfectly feathered backhand up the line by Swiatek on her third match point finally sealed the victory after 3 hours and 14 minutes.

"I wanted to fight until the end," Swiatek said. "I knew she played just perfectly but it would be hard for anybody to keep that level, so I wanted to be ready when more mistakes would come from the other side and I wanted to push then. I did that at the end and I'm really proud of myself. It wasn't easy."

Final stats: Swiatek finished the match with 36 winners to 35 unforced errors, though just nine of those errors came in the final set. Collins struck 28 winners to 37 unforced errors, but broke the Pole's serve six times.

Swiatek explains her Houdini act: "You're not going to lie to yourself obviously that you're losing 4-1. The only thing you can do is just try again. At that point, you kind of know that you may lose. You can actually relax a little bit more because you know that, Okay, probably I'm going to lose, so I don't care anymore. Then it's easier. Sometimes it works like that.

"But it doesn't change the fact that I just kept trying. I kind of accept that I'm not going to only have these motivational and positive thoughts. When I go and start the rally, well, I hope most of the time I have the same kind of intensity.."

Up next: Swiatek will face the Czech Republic's Linda Noskova in the third round. The 19-year-old advanced to her first third-round at a Slam by defeating McCartney Kessler 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.

wtatennis.com

I'm not gonna lie with the scoreline of 2-4 40 love my finger was on my tv remote's power button and I considered turning the match off, I didn't want to see yet another loss to Danielle Collins at Australian Open (this time at the earliest stage in a Slam). 

But tennis is sort of like a car wreck where you often can't look away until the last ball is struck so I kept watching. And boy am I ever glad I did!. 

The way Iga turned this match around was something else (yes many would say that Danielle's level finally dropped) which allowed Iga back in, and maybe it did a little but Iga could have very well made some unforced errors giving the match to Collins. And she didn't at 2-4 40 she knuckled down and took it. 

Something I've only seen from Iga once before at last year's Roland Garros. 

To say my blood pressure was through the roof during this match would be an understatement. My heart was in my throat for the entirety of that final set (especially when Iga squandered 2 match points one with a bad overhead). 

But somehow she found a way to survive. In her post match interview she said that her mind was already at the airport which basically allowed her to play more freely without care maybe that's what did it. 

I like to think it's all the mental work she has been doing the last several years. Iga from 2 years ago would have lost this match.

Who knows maybe coming so close to defeat will help her relax a little and allow her to play even better. Although next she'll be playing a night match for the first time in the tournament so that means more adjustments. 

I'm hoping the slower night conditions might actually be beneficial against another big hitter in Noskova. It only gets harder from here with possibly Svitolina in the 4th round and of course the possibility of Ostapenko in the quarters (I'm hoping Vika Azarenka might have other ideas though). 

Her biggest threat Rybakina in the semis is out of course, so if she could somehow navigate the next few rounds we could finally reach new ground at this tournament. But for now we'll take it one match at a time. 

Jadza Iga!.

And on a side note I just have to say as someone who has been watching this sport since I was a teenager and I can honestly say what I witnessed on Day 5 of this tournament was otherworldly. 

There were close 5 setters everywhere you looked, players in jeopardy and a historic tiebreak that lasted 34 minutes with a score of 22-20. 

It was basically a tennis fan's dream that will be hard to replicate no matter what happens in week 2.