Photo Source: TTV
World No.2 Iga Swiatek opened her bid for an 11th clay-court title, and third in Stuttgart, with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Croatia’s Jana Fett on Wednesday evening at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
The Pole needed 76 minutes as she converted five of 14 break point opportunities to book her spot in the quarterfinals.
Swiatek will face either Emma Navarro or Jelena Ostapenko in the last eight on Thursday in Stuttgart.
“I love just spending time in Stuttgart,” the 2022 and 2023 champion said on court. “I love the Centre Court here, it’s close to my home country, so a lot more Polish people cheering for me. For sure the great memories help, but overall I just love coming back here.”
Swiatek, who lost in the semifinals to Elena Rybakina in the semifinals at Stuttgart, now owns an 11-1 record at the indoor clay court event. The 23-year-old is still without a title in 2025.
The Pole was quick to get into her lethal patterns on serve, as she won 81 percent of her first serve points. She did fall behind by a break in the opening set, but provided the ultimate response, winning the final six games to improve to 63-5 on clay since the start of 2022.
The ever studious Swiatek still took the time to make some notes on her game during a changeover before the final game, a sign that she's still finding her game on the surface after a long run of hard court tennis.
"It was more for the next matches, because I had one technical thing that I would like to remember," she said. "My notebook – don't laugh – I saw some memes about it a few years ago, but it's really helpful." The victory was Swiatek’s first win on clay since winning Olympic bronze last year at the Paris Olympics.
Elsewhere on Wednesday in Stuttgart, Mirra Andreeva when her oldest sister Erika retired while trailing 6-2, 1-0. Magdalena Frech defeated Sara Errani, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(5).