"I definitely made too many mistakes" - Iga Swiatek rues unforced errors as impressive winning streak comes to an end

Iga Swiatek was on a nine-match winning streak before entering the Canadian Open, but she lost out in the last 16 to Danish star Clara Tauson 6-7(1), 3-6, in a huge upset. Swiatek had looked unstoppable in recent weeks, winning her first Wimbledon title in dominant fashion while also not dropping a set since the second-round victory over American Catherine McNally.

Tauson took an early advantage, breaking the Poles' serve in the third game. Swiatek eventually broke back to make it 5-5, but not before she missed seven earlier break points, even at one point being 0-40 ahead of her opponent. A sloppy tiebreak for the 24-year-old allowed Tauson to win six consecutive points and take the first set.

She went ahead in the second set through another early break of serve, but was again reigned in by the world number three, who took her first break point of the set. Tauson replied in style, breaking straight back and serving out to defeat the second seed and win against her fifth top 10 opponent. This is also sweet revenge after she was taken down by Swiatek at Wimbledon a month ago.

It was not a performance Swiatek would want to remember, after she hit 46 unforced errors in her straight-sets loss, 25 of those uncharacteristically coming on her exceptional forehand. Widely known as one of the best forehand strikers in women's tennis, this sloppiness comes as a shock.

After the match, Swiatek noted the mistakes she made, specifically in the tiebreak where she lost 7-1, but also praised her opponent, with Swiatek unable to find any answers to what was a brilliant display from the 22-year-old.

“I made too many mistakes in the tiebreak,” Swiatek said after the defeat. “In the second set, I felt Clara had the wind in her sails and I didn’t really know how to solve the problems. I definitely made too many mistakes on balls I could have played."

After a successful grass court season, which saw a Grand Slam and a tour final, this is the first game on hard court for Swiatek since Miami. The six-time Grand Slam champion also recognised that it takes time for her to adapt from grass to hard court, as she said: “Of course, I didn’t play perfectly here. I always feel like I have to adapt to hard courts. And these matches are also an opportunity to learn. I feel like I made the same mistakes I did at the end of my hard-court season in March.”

She will be hoping to iron out these mistakes ahead of a busy period, with another Masters 1000 tournament following in Cincinnati before the US Open kicks off.

Tauson is enjoying a very strong year, up to a career high of 19th in the world while going on another deep run in a 1000 event. She will be hoping to go one better than Dubai, where she lost out to Mirra Andreeva in the final.

She has lost three consecutive matches against the young Russian after that disappointment, but did not have to wait long for revenge over the Pole after Wimbledon. She acknowledged that she was happy to bury her past demons against Swiatek, and she also spoke about the pressure to keep her game up after winning the first set due to the quality of her opponent.

“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," Tauon said after her victory. “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.”

She has booked her place in the Canadian Open quarter-finals, where she will face off against the number six seed and Australian Open champion Maddison Keys for a slot in the semis.