Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open Facebook
A flurry of tennis balls floated in front of Iga Swiatek’s face.
The second-seeded Swiatek controlled the chaos with clear eyes and fast hands.
Juggling three tennis balls moments before stepping out on court, Swiatek mastered multiple challenges today to stretch her Madrid winning streak to nine matches.
Defending champion Swiatek staved off a determined Diana Shnaider 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-4 advancing to her third straight Mutua Madrid Open quarterfinal today.
"For sure she got her level up in the second set, but I think I also, you know, focused on different stuff than in the first," Swiatek told the media in Madrid. "So I wanted to come back to how I played in the first set when I started the third, and happy that I did that at the end."
Swiatek has survived a couple of three-setters in Madrid—she beat her Miami conqueror Alexandra Eala in her opener—in becoming the only woman to reach the quarterfinal at all five WTA 1000 events so far in 2025. No other woman has reached three WTA 1000 quarterfinals so far this season.
It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t always pretty, but Swiatek showed toughness, saving 11 of 13 break points in a two hour, 34-minute triumph.
World No. 2 Swiatek will face Australian Open champion Madison Keys in a quarterfinal clash that is their seventh career meeting.
The fifth-seeded Keys dismissed Wimbledon semifinalist Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 on the strength of five service breaks.
Drilling drives that danced near the baseline, Swiatek stormed through a shutout opening set with ruthless precision. Swiatek slid a forehand winner down the line dispensing her ninth bagel of the year in just 22 minutes.
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Consulting with her coach, former No. 1 and 2009 Madrid champion Dinara Safina, Shnaider surged back in the second set.
The 2023 NC State all-American began ripping her lefty forehand down the line stretching the court and surprising Swiatek at times.
Shnaider won eight of the first 10 points taking a 2-0 second-set lead. Swiatek saved a couple of break points in the third game then broke at love to level the set after four games.
The pair exchanged breaks in the seventh and eighth games as the set escalated into the tiebreaker.
Feeling her forehand, Shnaider raced out to a 5-1 lead. The lefty lasered a forehand down the line for set points and snatched the second set to force a decider.
"I wouldn't say I was like shocked, because, you know, it's easy to get your level up when you have nothing to lose, you know," Swiatek said of the second set loss. "For sure, you know, she's a top-20 player, and she's playing great, so I knew that she can get her level up.
"But I wasn't happy with how I handled it, you know, because I should stay like consistently at the same level. But I kind of didn't so that's for sure something that I want to improve."
Early in the final set, coach Wim Fissette urged Swiatek to play Shnaider’s backhand wing and make her move.
The 21-year-old Shnaider fended off three break points in the fifth game but netted a high forehand trying to change direction down the line to face a fourth break point.
Blasting a backhand down the line, Swiatek earned the crucial break for 3-2.
Still, Shnaider kept applying pressure gaining break point in the sixth game. Swiatek made a slick, spinning get off lob that helped her fight off a break point. Navigating a seventh-and-a-half minute hold, Swiatek extended her lead to 4-2.
Despite all the stress, Swiatek was pretty calm at closing time. The five-time Grand Slam champion jerked Shnaider all over the court and finished with one final forehand winner crosscourt to end a tough test.