Reigning champion Iga Swiatek narrowly avoided a second consecutive defeat against Alexandra Eala in a WTA 1000 tournament, mounting a three-set recovery at the Mutua Madrid Open. Swiatek, trailing by a set and a break, ultimately defeated the young Filipina player with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Just months after losing to Eala in straight sets in the Miami quarterfinals, Swiatek seemed headed for a similar upset in Madrid when she went down a set and a break (6-4, 3-2). However, the World No. 2 composed herself, winning five straight games from 4-4 in the second set and completing her comeback in 2 hours and 15 minutes.
By winning, Swiatek prevented her earliest exit from a WTA 1000 event in almost four years; her last second-round loss at this level was at the 2021 Cincinnati Open. This victory also extended her impressive streak of 58 consecutive wins in opening matches at Hologic WTA Tour tournaments (including the United Cup and WTA Finals), a run that began after her round-robin loss to Maria Sakkari at the 2021 year-end championships.
After the match, Swiatek commented, “It wasn`t easy to find my rhythm and timing, so I`m glad I remained patient.”
Swiatek struggled with errors early on, committing 25 of her total 57 unforced errors in the first set, but finished with 40 winners. Her game improved significantly; her first serve win percentage climbed to 85% after being below 60% in the first two sets, and she converted seven of her sixteen break point opportunities against Eala.
Eala reflected on the match, stating she was “happy with the match, happy with how I competed.” She acknowledged that being a set and a break up was a strong position, but “you have to remember that there’s another person on the other side of the court. More so, a multiple Roland Garros champion. She did well also … Things to take back and to learn.”
Comparing the Madrid match to their previous encounter in Miami, Eala felt the difference was that Swiatek “executed better in the important moments, and she had a little higher level than me in specific moments of the match.”
Swiatek`s next challenge in her quest for a first final of the season is facing Linda Noskova, the No. 31 seed, who has posed difficulties for her previously. While Swiatek has won their last three encounters since her loss at the Australian Open last year, two of these required three sets. Should Swiatek advance, she might feel relieved knowing her difficult opponent, Jelena Ostapenko (against whom Swiatek has a 0-6 record), was defeated by fellow Latvian Anastasija Sevastova during Swiatek`s match against Eala.
