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No.1 seeded Iga Swiatek scripted a stunning comeback victory against No.11 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 in the quarter-final match of the ongoing Madrid Open on Tuesday.
Swiatek came from a set down to book her place in her second straight semifinal in Madrid after a match that lasted for two hours and 29 minutes. Despite having an early 4-1 lead in the first set, World No. 1 Swiatek played a spartan opening set and looked far from her best. Due to careless backhand misfires, she lost three break points in the second game and had to defend break points in two of her own service games. Haddad Maia had also gotten off to a bad start, giving up her serve with a double fault in the fourth game. She was able to capitalize on Swiatek's weakness on serve, though, as her powerful forehand strokes started to find the court, winning five games in a row to win the set. In the first set, Swiatek made 13 unintentional mistakes compared to only 8 winners. However, he came back strong. She stepped up her game in all areas and won eight straight games, overwhelming Haddad Maia on the offensive and defensive ends. In the second set, Swiatek dropped just 12 points overall and had no breakpoints, cutting her error count to five. Haddad Maia, on the other hand, made 14 unintentional mistakes and only discovered one winner. Deep into the third set, Swiatek maintained her pace and quickly established a 4-1 lead. Haddad Maia was able to strike a few more precise blows with her back to the wall, forcing Swiatek to exert more effort to seal the victory. (ANI)
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