"I wasn’t as nervous as it might have seemed" - A composed Magda Linette explains aggressive tactics to keep Swiatek at bay

Madga Linette produced a seismic upset against the world number three Iga Swiatek in the second round of the Miami Open, coming back from a set down to defeat her fellow Pole 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.

After going behind, Linette produced a late break of serve to take the second set before moving ahead of her opponent in the deciding set. She did not relinquish her advantage, seeing it out until the end to see her advance in spectacular fashion.

The former Australian Open semi-finalist was delighted with her showing and the result. "I felt that I was playing better than last time and had a better idea of what to do," she told the Tennis Channel. "I was also serving better. I just tried to focus on holding my own serve first, getting ahead, and staying ahead, because then you can create chances—and eventually I did. I think the most important thing was staying strong in my service games."

Swiatek is a very aggressive player, looking to blast the ball past her hapless opponents and in the past doing that with a whole host of success. Her form has gone downhill in recent times and she has been unable to produce this level of tennis, but it is not an easy task for players to deal with her.

In a reaction to this, Linette also went on the front foot. "In the first set, I did that well. She was playing very fast, not giving me much time between shots, so I had to go for a bit more. I needed to hit faster to push her back and not give her space. It all started with serving better and getting more out of both my first and second serve."

Linette managed to put herself in a match winning position with some very solid tennis as she controlled the nerves to come through and pick up a hugely impressive result. "Especially because she raises her level on break points and match points down—she starts swinging more and becomes less passive," she explained. "I didn’t do much wrong. There was one forehand I really regretted, but I still went for it because I wanted to create an advantage. I knew I had to stay strong on my serve, and I really trusted it today, especially in the third set."

On match point, she kept her cool despite maybe not getting the execution she would have hoped for. "I wasn’t as nervous as it might have seemed, but I could have hit better on match point—I got a bit lucky there."

Linette has already played 11 three-set matches this year, a lot of tennis overall. Her physicality does not seem to be an issue but more work on the mental side needs to be done. "Even though I was disappointed with my loss in Indian Wells, I had some time to rest and came back feeling more focused. I just tried to keep going the same way—stay focused on the ball and keep striking it well." Right now, physically it’s a bit easier than mentally."

This is such a key part in tennis, something many professionals, including Linette, need to get right if they are going to rise up the ranks. "Mentally, it’s such a fine line—if your level drops even a little, top players take advantage immediately. So the key was to stay calm, keep hitting, create advantages in rallies, push her back, and not let her dictate."

A lot of help has come from former world number two Agnieszka Radwańska. She joined Linette's team as a mentor back in 2024 and has provided much needed information and help to the 34-year-old.

She has proven to be pivotal. "I’ve changed quite a lot, especially my forehand—almost completely," she said. "That helps me compete better with top players, because I’m hitting flatter now. I don’t have the same physicality to rely on heavy spin and movement, so I had to adapt. She came in and said we needed to change it. My coach, Mark Gellard, knew the technical side and created the right exercises. Together, they communicated really well—she brought ideas, and we trusted her."

The work has paid off with her able to bring these into matches. "Whenever we tried something different from what she suggested, we immediately got punished, so we learned to stick with it. Mark’s knowledge of technique is brilliant, so we were able to make these changes during matches. I think we did it so well that most people didn’t even notice how much I’ve changed—maybe only the players did."

The world number 50 will need to call on all her experience to tackle a very dangerous opponent in the form of Alexandra Eala. The 20-year-old reached the semi-final stage in a breakthrough campaign and will be hoping to continue her bright form in Florida against Linette, who herself reached the quarterfinal stage.