Iga Swiatek Shows Grit To Battle Through Brutal Opening Set Against Elina Svitolina
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Iga Swiatek moved safely into the quarterfinals of the 2025 Miami Open, but she was made to sweat in the opening set by Elina Svitolina.
The WTA world No. 2 was solid, if unspectacular in her opening two matches of the Miami Open against Caroline Garcia and Elise Mertens. She did well to move on from a tough loss against Mirra Andreeva in the 2025 Indian Wells Open semifinal.
Swiatek and her team undoubtedly knew to expect a tough challenge against Svitolina, one of the most formidable competitors on the WTA Tour. The Ukrainian also defeated the five-time Grand Slam champion at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
Both women had to wait longer than they might have expected to start after waiting a lengthy period for Joao Fonseca and Alex de Minaur's long battle to finish, since it was the first match of the night session on Stadium Court.
Swiatek started the brighter of the two players when the contest eventually began. She was rewarded with a break in the third game, and she seemed ready to try and get matters finished swiftly and efficiently.
However, Svitolina was in no mood to let Swiatek have things completely her own way. The 30-year-old responded by breaking straight back and let out a roar afterward, seeking to stay as fired up as possible.
The rest of the set followed a similar pattern. Swiatek was also broken straight back at 4-3 and 6-5. Although she made surprising errors at 6-5 in particular, Svitolina deserves credit for not letting her head drop and fighting back three times in the set.
In truth, Swiatek and Svitolina played a mostly nervy tiebreak, and were deadlocked at 5-5 after both made errors. The Pole was more decisive when it counted, seizing the initiative in the final two points to win the tiebreak 7-5 and the set 7-6.
While Swiatek left the court for a comfort break after winning a very lengthy opening set, Svitolina received treatment for what appeared to be blisters on her feet, but she continued to play afterward.
The two-time Wimbledon semifinalist gave Swiatek a wakeup call by breaking in the opening game. Although the former world No. 1 possesses more quality, she could not afford to let her intensity drop against the dogged Svitolina.
Swiatek responded to that jolt by raising her game and playing much better than the first set and opening game of the second. That allowed her to break Svitolina twice and win three consecutive games, hitting several crisp groundsrokes along the way.
The 2022 US Open winner briefly let Svitolina back into the contest after getting broken again, but she eventually got over the line. Another break in the eighth game and a final hold gave her a 7-6, 6-3 triumph.
Swiatek will start her quarterfinal against the wild card Alexandra Eala as the heavy favorite. However, the 23-year-old is the ultimate professional and will be wary after the Filipina defeated 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys and Jelena Ostapenko.
The five-time Grand Slam champion has done well to stay focused on the court after footage emerged online of her being verbally abused by an obsessed troll during a practice session.
