Anett Kontaveit could not have wished for a better start to the week, as she charged through to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the 2020 Australian Open.
The 28th seed fought from a set down to overcome
fan favorite Iga Swiatek in three tedious sets, 6-7(4) 7-5 7-5.
The unseeded Swiatek was experiencing a dream outing herself, having defeated 19th seed Donna Vekic in the previous round.
Kontaveit had made quick work of 6th seed Belinda Bencic in the previous round, defeating her 6-0 6-1. However, the Estonian faced tougher opposition in Swiatek, being broken three times before losing the first set in a tiebreak.
Kontaveit was broken to begin the second set but fought her way back to level the match at a set apiece.
The final set once again began with a break by Swiatek, but the Polish player was unable to steady her nerves. Kontaveit broke back to make it 2-2 and the pair exchanged breaks once again.
With a deciding tiebreak looming, it was Swiatek who crumbled under the pressure. The World No.56 was unable to prevent the errors from creeping into her game. A final break at 5-6 handed the match to Kontaveit in two hours and 45 minutes.
Kontaveit faces another test in top seed Simona Halep, who
defeated Elise Mertens to set up their quarterfinal match.
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