Defending champion Swiatek battles past Keys to make Madrid semifinals
MADRID -- Iga Swiatek has been far from her invincible self at the Mutua Madrid Open. As she progressed to the quarterfinals here, she uncharacteristically dropped sets to younger players Alexandra Eala and Diana Shnaider.
And then came Wednesday’s shocker. Swiatek is an accomplished baker -- her bagels are world-renowned -- but No. 5 seed Madison Keys took the first set, 6-0, in a scant 24 minutes.
Swiatek, however, is a four-time Roland Garros champion for a number of significant reasons. The World No. 2 wins nearly 90 percent of her matches on clay and on Wednesday, those instincts kicked in on the way to a 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Madrid: Draws | Scores | Order of play
“Honestly, it was one of the weirdest matches I’ve ever played,” Swiatek said in her on-court interview. “I didn’t feel like [the first set] was that bad. I felt the ball well -- it just went super long.
“I tried to play a bit shorter, and with some mistakes by Maddy, the momentum changed in the end. I’m happy that I did it.”
Coco next up: The triumph sent Swiatek into Thursday’s semifinals against No. 4 seed Coco Gauff, who reeled off nine of the last 10 games in her quarterfinal victory over No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva.
Swiatek is 11-3 lifetime against Gauff, but Gauff has won their last two meetings, including this year at United Cup. However, Gauff is yet to beat Swiatek on clay.
Stat corner: The unforced errors were the story of the match: 35 for Keys, 25 for Swiatek.
Swiatek now leads the head-to-head 5-2 -- and she’s 4-0 on clay against Keys.
This is Swiatek’s 20th semifinal in 36 WTA 1000 appearances. She’s only the third player to win her first six completed clay-court quarterfinals in those elite events, joining Serena Williams and Simona Halep.
The last time they played, Keys took down World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals of the Australian Open. She went on to win her first Grand Slam singles title, beating World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
But that was on a hard court. Clay changes the dynamic dramatically.
Match moments: Defending champion Swiatek was looking to reach three consecutive semifinals in Madrid, something previously achieved only by Maria Sharapova.
But when Swiatek dropped the first set without winning a game, it was the first time that happened to the Polish player in nearly four years -- against Daria Kasatkina on the grass in 2021 Eastbourne. That’s a staggering stretch of 625 completed sets without a shutout. Swiatek committed 10 unforced errors, won 29 percent of her service points -- and a total of only nine points.
The second set was an almost complete reversal, with Swiatek looking much more comfortable. Keys, who had only two unforced errors in the first set, was charged with 15 in the second. Swiatek broke the American's serve twice, and she converted her second set point when a Keys forehand return found the net.
As the match progressed, Swiatek’s superior movement became more of a deciding factor. The first break of the third set occurred with Keys serving at 2-2: after saving two break points, Swiatek won a marvelous point with a lunging backhand volley followed by a Keys forehand into the net.
Attacking Keys’ backhand with regularity, Swiatek succeeded in opening up the court. Even when Keys got a decent look at a forehand, it often let her down. It was a backhand, though, that cost her a second service break, and Swiatek served for the match at 5-2. The Pole converted her second match point when a Keys forehand sailed out.
“[Keys] was serving great, and in every service game she got like two, three points by aces or some amazing serves,” Swiatek said, recalling the first set. “So when I didn't get them back I had no chance to win a point. Then, when I didn’t hold my serve, obviously, yeah, it became complicated.
“But that's why it's good that we have second sets to just change something up. And maybe, yeah, I feel like for sure I started serving better and that helped me."
