"I was not feeling great in that match": Clara Tauson takes Iga Swiatek revenge after illness blighted Wimbledon quest

Clara Tauson had never beaten Iga Swiatek in three previous attempts, until now. On Sunday night in Montreal, the Danish No. 16 seed flipped the script with a gutsy 7-6(1), 6-3 win, knocking out the Wimbledon champion and ending her nine-match win streak. It is a result that sends Tauson into the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event for just the second time in her career.

The win comes just weeks after the pair met at Wimbledon, where Swiatek dispatched Tauson in the fourth round. Yet this time, under the lights of Stade IGA and on the North American hard courts, Tauson had her revenge.

"I just felt like after I won the first set that I needed to continue, because I know she's never going to give up, and she's going to come out firing no matter what," said Tauson after the match as she stuck to the game plan and exacted revenge.

She continued discussing how losing at Wimbledon to the Pole contributed to winning this Sunday and how being unwell in that match provided her the tonic while she is now 100%: "I think obviously getting a win against her after losing to her in Wimbledon and a couple of weeks ago is obviously nice, because I was not feeling great in that match, and I felt like I was playing some good tennis in Wimbledon. So I felt like if I could keep that going, I thought I had a shot."

The opening set was a tight affair, lasting over an hour as both players traded breaks and momentum. Tauson led early, twice going up a break, but could not close it out at 5-4. Still, when the set hit a tiebreak, the Dane hit another gear, dominating seven of the eight points to take it 7-1.

Statistically, the margins were razor-thin. Tauson edged Swiatek in total points (52% to 48%) and had a slight edge in dominance ratio (1.06 vs. 0.95), indicating she was marginally more effective in controlling rallies.

The second set saw Clara Tauson elevate her game, resulting in a dominant performance reflected in the statistics. Although her first serve percentage dipped to 55%, she won an impressive 76% of those points, significantly higher than Swiatek’s 57%. This edge on first-serve points was a key factor in allowing Tauson to maintain pressure throughout the set.

On second serves, Tauson also had the upper hand, winning 50% of those points compared to Swiatek’s 38%, which helped her stay aggressive even when under pressure.

The second set followed a similar pattern to the first; Tauson raced to an early lead, only to see Swiatek level the score. However, unlike at Wimbledon, the Dane did not falter. From 3-3, she reeled off three of the next four games and sealed the win in one hour and 55 minutes.

With this momentum, Tauson now advances to the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event for only the second time, setting up a tantalizing clash with Madison Keys, a player known for her power and intensity.

Keys, the No. 6 seed, came through a dramatic encounter against Karolina Muchova, winning 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 after saving two match points while serving at 4-5 in the final set. It marks her eighth quarterfinal appearance of the season, and her first in Canada since 2016.

It will be the first meeting between Keys and Tauson. On paper, it is power vs. power. Though if Tauson’s win over Swiatek showed anything, it is that she’s no longer just a dangerous floater in the draw; she is surely a contender to win the whole thing. The pair are set to play on August 4 along with the other quarterfinal featuring Elina Svitolina and Naomi Osaka.