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WTA
Madrid
Two French Open champions, one winner: world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty got the better of Iga Swiatek at the Mutua Madrid Open on Monday to reach the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 event, 7-5, 6-4.
Both players came into the match with streaks at stake: Barty boasted 13 consecutive wins on red clay going back to her maiden Grand Slam victory in Paris in 2019, while Swiatek had won 18 consecutive sets on the surface dating back to her own triumph last fall.
To extend her own streak to 14 straight and snap Swiatek’s, Barty rallied from a slow start and relied heavily on her serve to secure victory: the Aussie rallied from a
3-0 down in the opening set, and was never again broken after that.
The top seed did not even face a break point for the duration of the opener after she pulled level, and crucially, later rallied from a 0-40 deficit to hold for 4-2 in the second set after having broken Swiatek in the third game.
Though she landed just 56 percent of her first serves in the match, Barty won nearly 80 percent of the points played behind it. She cleaned up her serve in the second set, too, by raising her first-serve percentage from 46 to 65 percent.
With the win, Barty also improved her 2021 record against Top 20 players to 9-0, and advances to a quarterfinal meeting with No.9 seed Petra Kvitova.
Barty and Kvitova have played nine times, with the Czech holding a slim 5-4 edge all-time. Their lone meeting on clay came a staggering nine years ago at the French Open and was won by Kvitova, 6-1, 6-2—but that’s a match that neither player will put much stock in.
“We played on clay, but it was many, many years ago so I’m not counting then,” Kvitova said. “She has a game for clay. She’s sliding. She’s playing lots of slice and everything... She likes clay a little bit more than me probably. I like Madrid. So who knows, right?
“Always playing Ash, it’s great challenge. It will be great matchup. I really will enjoy it. I’m really looking forward for it.”
Kvitova, Bencic book
QF berths
No.9 seed Petra Kvitova battled into her sixth career quarterfinal at the Mutua Madrid Open with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win over Veronika Kudermetova, while No.8 seed Belinda Bencic moved into the last eight after a right thigh injury forced Ons Jabeur to retire trailing 7-6(2), 4-3.
“Definitely it was a tough one,” said Kvitova afterwards. “It was about serving a lot. Was just the one break in each set. I’m really glad I managed most of it mentally. Veronika was really in the fire. Since she won Charleston, she really play great. She will be big champion.
“I would say whole match I was not relaxed, but calm I would say. That’s how I managed to bring it to the win, I would say.”
Kvitova has won in Madrid more times than any other woman, having lifted the trophy in 2011, 2015 and 2018. Her comfort in the Caja Magica was evident through a clean first set in which the Czech conceded only six points behind serve, and never faced a break point. After capturing the Kudermetova serve in the second game, Kvitova never looked like losing her lead.
Though Kvitova missed a break point to take a similarly early hold of the second set, the pattern continued. The two-time Wimbledon champion lost three points in her first four service games, while repeatedly putting Kudermetova under pressure. When Kvitova hammered her best winner of the match to reach double break point at 4-4, she seemed all but home and dry.
But Kudermetova has been getting used to winning in 2021. Her 22 match victories are second only to World No.1 Ashleigh Barty’s 23, and her year was highlighted by a maiden title in Charleston last month. Kudermetova demonstrated her winning instincts with clutch serving to get out of that game.
Bencic’s results on clay have yet to match her achievements on other surfaces, but the Swiss player tends to find her form in certain tournaments. Two of her four career clay quarterfinals have now come in Madrid, where she was a semifinalist in 2019. The other two were both in Charleston. Bencic ascribes this to the speed of the courts in these events.
“For sure I think Charleston it’s the green clay, so it’s little bit faster than the normal clay,” she said. “Madrid, it feels of course like clay, but it feels a little bit more like indoor. The center court, it’s very open. But the other courts, the one I played today and the one I played my first round, the roof is not so big - so it feels very indoor and very close. The court plays fast. It’s a little bit of altitude here. It’s good conditions. They suit me. It’s for sure a faster clay than normally.”
A high-quality first-time encounter between Bencic and Jabeur was unfortunately curtailed after the Tunisian pulled up while chasing down a forehand at 3-3 in the second set. After a medical timeout at the changeover, Jabeur resumed play, but two points later was unable to continue.
In a tight first set, Jabeur had impressed with some wonderful forehands, and had advanced to double set point on the Bencic serve at 5-4. But Bencic saved both with bold winners, and dominated the ensuing tiebreak with clean, aggressive play to take the lead. She will next face either wildcard Paula Badosa or qualifier Anastasija Sevastova.
“I felt terrible for her,” said Bencic. “She’s such a nice person. We are good friends. You never want this to happen to anyone. For sure I wish her the best recovery. But overall I thought we played a great match. There was no breaks at all in the whole match. I think her serving was great. I think it was a good level. I’m definitely happy with how I played and everything. But for sure I didn’t want to win like this.”
Madrid
Two French Open champions, one winner: world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty got the better of Iga Swiatek at the Mutua Madrid Open on Monday to reach the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 event, 7-5, 6-4.
Both players came into the match with streaks at stake: Barty boasted 13 consecutive wins on red clay going back to her maiden Grand Slam victory in Paris in 2019, while Swiatek had won 18 consecutive sets on the surface dating back to her own triumph last fall.
To extend her own streak to 14 straight and snap Swiatek’s, Barty rallied from a slow start and relied heavily on her serve to secure victory: the Aussie rallied from a
3-0 down in the opening set, and was never again broken after that.
The top seed did not even face a break point for the duration of the opener after she pulled level, and crucially, later rallied from a 0-40 deficit to hold for 4-2 in the second set after having broken Swiatek in the third game.
Though she landed just 56 percent of her first serves in the match, Barty won nearly 80 percent of the points played behind it. She cleaned up her serve in the second set, too, by raising her first-serve percentage from 46 to 65 percent.
With the win, Barty also improved her 2021 record against Top 20 players to 9-0, and advances to a quarterfinal meeting with No.9 seed Petra Kvitova.
Barty and Kvitova have played nine times, with the Czech holding a slim 5-4 edge all-time. Their lone meeting on clay came a staggering nine years ago at the French Open and was won by Kvitova, 6-1, 6-2—but that’s a match that neither player will put much stock in.
“We played on clay, but it was many, many years ago so I’m not counting then,” Kvitova said. “She has a game for clay. She’s sliding. She’s playing lots of slice and everything... She likes clay a little bit more than me probably. I like Madrid. So who knows, right?
“Always playing Ash, it’s great challenge. It will be great matchup. I really will enjoy it. I’m really looking forward for it.”
Kvitova, Bencic book
QF berths
No.9 seed Petra Kvitova battled into her sixth career quarterfinal at the Mutua Madrid Open with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win over Veronika Kudermetova, while No.8 seed Belinda Bencic moved into the last eight after a right thigh injury forced Ons Jabeur to retire trailing 7-6(2), 4-3.
“Definitely it was a tough one,” said Kvitova afterwards. “It was about serving a lot. Was just the one break in each set. I’m really glad I managed most of it mentally. Veronika was really in the fire. Since she won Charleston, she really play great. She will be big champion.
“I would say whole match I was not relaxed, but calm I would say. That’s how I managed to bring it to the win, I would say.”
Kvitova has won in Madrid more times than any other woman, having lifted the trophy in 2011, 2015 and 2018. Her comfort in the Caja Magica was evident through a clean first set in which the Czech conceded only six points behind serve, and never faced a break point. After capturing the Kudermetova serve in the second game, Kvitova never looked like losing her lead.
Though Kvitova missed a break point to take a similarly early hold of the second set, the pattern continued. The two-time Wimbledon champion lost three points in her first four service games, while repeatedly putting Kudermetova under pressure. When Kvitova hammered her best winner of the match to reach double break point at 4-4, she seemed all but home and dry.
But Kudermetova has been getting used to winning in 2021. Her 22 match victories are second only to World No.1 Ashleigh Barty’s 23, and her year was highlighted by a maiden title in Charleston last month. Kudermetova demonstrated her winning instincts with clutch serving to get out of that game.
Bencic’s results on clay have yet to match her achievements on other surfaces, but the Swiss player tends to find her form in certain tournaments. Two of her four career clay quarterfinals have now come in Madrid, where she was a semifinalist in 2019. The other two were both in Charleston. Bencic ascribes this to the speed of the courts in these events.
“For sure I think Charleston it’s the green clay, so it’s little bit faster than the normal clay,” she said. “Madrid, it feels of course like clay, but it feels a little bit more like indoor. The center court, it’s very open. But the other courts, the one I played today and the one I played my first round, the roof is not so big - so it feels very indoor and very close. The court plays fast. It’s a little bit of altitude here. It’s good conditions. They suit me. It’s for sure a faster clay than normally.”
A high-quality first-time encounter between Bencic and Jabeur was unfortunately curtailed after the Tunisian pulled up while chasing down a forehand at 3-3 in the second set. After a medical timeout at the changeover, Jabeur resumed play, but two points later was unable to continue.
In a tight first set, Jabeur had impressed with some wonderful forehands, and had advanced to double set point on the Bencic serve at 5-4. But Bencic saved both with bold winners, and dominated the ensuing tiebreak with clean, aggressive play to take the lead. She will next face either wildcard Paula Badosa or qualifier Anastasija Sevastova.
“I felt terrible for her,” said Bencic. “She’s such a nice person. We are good friends. You never want this to happen to anyone. For sure I wish her the best recovery. But overall I thought we played a great match. There was no breaks at all in the whole match. I think her serving was great. I think it was a good level. I’m definitely happy with how I played and everything. But for sure I didn’t want to win like this.”
