After Losing First Set Swiatek Overpowers Zheng In Cincinnati To Reach Quarterfinals

| by Evita Mueller

Iga Swiatek dealt with early struggles against Qinwen Zheng, but she calmed down to advance at the Cincinnati Masters.

Iga Swiatek and Qinwen Zheng have played some really good matches so far on the WTA Tour, and this was shaping up to be a really good one too. The Chinese player simply doesn't fear Swiatek and approaches the matchup with the belief that she can win, and for the most part, it works for her.

Swiatek hasn't been playing at her peak for much of this year, and today was also like that. She struggled with control once more as the win contributed to many unforced errors. It's not something she's known for, but it happens even to the best of them.

The opening set of this one was filled with errors as she struggled to control the ball in most games. Zheng didn't even serve well, and Swiatek still struggled. Generally, she would have feasted in a match like this. The Chinese player followed a blueprint we've seen from a few players.

US Open Scare: Elena Rybakina Forced To Retire In Cincinnati
US Open Scare: Elena Rybakina Forced To Retire In Cincinnati

The second serve of Swiatek isn't really good, and you can attack it. She did that with great success and took the opening set 6-3. The second set was the polar opposite. What were misses in the previous set were now winners, which made all the difference.

Swiatek jumped out to an early lead and never let it go winning the set 6-1. It was a much better performance than the first set and reassuring for fans. She's been dealing with a lot of media curiosity about her losing more often than last year. She brushed it off, explaining that losing is not the end of the world.

She wouldn't lose this match as she started to push immediately in the final one getting the break. It was widely expected that Swiatek wouldn't struggle for the entirety of the match as her athleticism really stood out as the match went on.

She spoke fondly about her fitness recently, as it allows her to move as great as she does, and that perfect preparation is part of her incredible shot-making. The final score was 3-6 6-1 6-1 for Swiatek, who will face Marketa Vondrousova in the quarter-final.

PHOTO: First Novak Djokovic: Novak's Great-Grandfather Goes Viral Due To Resemblance
PHOTO: First Novak Djokovic: Novak's Great-Grandfather Goes Viral Due To Resemblance

Read the full article

Just in

Look at more articles