Iga Swiatek barely won her previous match at the 2024 Miami Open, and up next is a challenge against Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Swiatek only lost two matches in 2024, one of which was against Linda Noskova at the Australian Open. She would avenge that loss last week at the Indian Wells Open but also ran into new problems against Noskova in Miami.
The Czech player pushed Swiatek quite a bit, winning one set and forcing her to play all three sets. The world number one pulled out with a win but it was a reminder that other players are stepping up and that she wouldn't cruise so easily.
Noskova seems to give her a lot of problems generally, so it might be a matchup problem, but she still handled it. Aelxandrova does some of the things Noskova does as well, so let's see whether she can actually create a similar amount of pressure.
If we look at their previous matches, we can clearly see that Alexandrova hasn't been able to create a lot of pressure. She did beat her once a few years ago, but since then, the Pole has won three matches, one of which was played this year.
It was relatively recently in Doha, and it was an easy two-set win for the Polish player. This event plays a bit differently, which might help Alexandrova, who gets more dangerous the quicker the court is. I think she will be able to put some pressure on Swiatek, but I'm unsure how much that will inch her closer to victory.
| Iga Swiatek | Ekaterina Alexandrova | |
| 3 | H2H | 1 |
| 1 | Rank | 16 |
| 22 | Age | 29 |
| 22-2 | 2024 W/L | 10-7 |
| 303-68 | Career W/L | 403-245 |
The problem for Alexandrova is similar to that of many who have against Swiatek. How to outhit her from the baseline? I don't think she can, certainly not for three sets, so I'll back the world number one to progress.
Prediction: Iga Swiatek to win in two sets.