FIRST TIME since Cincinnati 2022 that Swiatek plays a WTA 1000 and... doesn't reach the QFs. Streak of 10 consecutive WTA 1000 QFs is over. Big, big moment for Alexandrova.
Iga Swiatek's streak is over in WTA 1000 tournaments and sits at 10 as the World No.1 heads onto the clay courts with a poor ending at the Miami Open to what has been an exceptional revival since the Australian Open. She was dumped out on Monday night by Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2 which blew the tournament wide open.
Swiatek was the out and out favourite and with Coco Gauff also being defeated means that the winner of Maria Sakkari v Elena Rybakina will now take that tag of being favourite for the Miami Open.
It was a poor ending due to the staggering streak that Swiatek has been on. It is the first time since Cincinnati in 2022 that Swiatek has played a WTA 1000 and failed to get to the Quarter-Finals at least. This season alone, she has won Qatar and Indian Wells and only an exceptional display in Dubai against Anna Kalinskaya stopped her also reaching that final.
Last season, she played in 7 out of the 9 tournaments and reached at least the semi-final in all of them. This since the 2022 season where she won four titles in a row before two poor showings during the American Hard Court swing.
It is a big moment for Alexandrova who is in a group of Russian players including Kudermetova, Samsonova among others who have long been spoilers to the big names and can pull it out of the hat on a given day. Given the tournament being blown wide open now, she will look to take her chance.
While this record has fallen for Swiatek too, it won't be too much heartbreak as she now encounters the clay court season. This adds more pressure but with a huge rankings lead and it being her favourite surface, it will likely see her thrive again and get back on track. Next up will be Stuttgart for Swiatek who leads the field in the race for yet another Porsche.
FIRST TIME since Cincinnati 2022 that Swiatek plays a WTA 1000 and... doesn't reach the QFs. Streak of 10 consecutive WTA 1000 QFs is over. Big, big moment for Alexandrova.