Iga Swiatek reached quarter-finals
Iga Swiatek who is ranked the number 1 tennis player in the World, beat China's Zheng Qinwen and advanced to the quarter-finals of the tournament.
It took Swiatek 2 hours and 45 minutes to defeat Qinwen. The Polish player registered the win against her Chinese opponent by the margin of 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-2. With the victory, she extended her winning streak to 32 matches.
She has won her past five tournaments, going unbeaten since February for the WTA's longest such stretch since Serena Williams compiled a 34-match run in 2013.
"I'm pretty happy I could come back after a pretty frustrating first set when I had the lead," Swiatek said. "Pretty happy with myself that I'm still in the tournament," she added.
Swiatek regrouped by changing tactics — she sped up her forehand instead of absorbing Zheng's power — and in a less conventional way, too, deciding to change her tune. No, really: She switched which song she was singing in her head during the match.
"It was Dua Lipa," Swiatek said, "so kind of a guilty pleasure."
Next to try to stop Swiatek will be 11th-seeded Jessica Pegula at Roland Garros. She progressed to her third major quarterfinal with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania, who was fined $10,000 last week when she threw her racket and it bounced into the stands, brushing a child in a front-row seat.
The other women's quarterfinal Wednesday will be between No. 20 Daria Kasatkina and No. 29 Veronika Kudermetova. They were teammates on the team that won the Billie Jean King Cup last year.
The most-anticipated men's quarterfinal will be the 59th career meeting between defending champion Novak Djokovic and 13-time champion Rafael Nadal on Tuesday night. Also Tuesday, No. 3 Alexander Zverev plays No. 6 Carlos Alcaraz, a 19-year-old from Spain.
Men's matches Wednesday are No. 7 Andrey Rublev against 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic, and Holger Rune, a 19-year-old from Denmark, against No. 8 Casper Ruud, a 23-year-old from Norway.
Zheng is 19, and Swiatek is just 20. Both are capable of playing like veterans.
Zheng, though, said she found it “tough to show my level,” because of stomach cramps and an issue with her right leg, which was taped by a trainer during a medical timeout at 3-0 in the second set. That was during a span where Swiatek grabbed eight straight games.
When it ended, Swiatek screamed “Come on!” and shook her right fist as she looked at the excited faces in her guest box.
"For sure, these matches are emotional for everybody,” she said, “because they are tight and not easy.”
(Inputs from PTI)
