World No.1 Iga Swiatek eases into Quarter-Finals of Cincinnati Open after opening set wobble against Qinwen Zheng

Thursday, 17 August 2023 at 22:09

World No.1, Iga Swiatek has found her way into the Quarter-Finals of the 2023 Cincinnati Open (Western & Southern Open) albeit after an opening set wobble against a familiar foe in Qinwen Zheng 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.

Albeit one that she holds an outstanding head-to-head record against in their few meetings over the past year and a half. But at times, the match was on upset watch.

Swiatek's serve was utterly all over the place in the opening set. The errors piled up and she was broken three times in one set by the Chinese ace.

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This also featured 23 unforced errors from the Pole, but in the end, an outfit change weirdly was the catalyst for her to romp to victory. She eased through the next two 6-1`, 6-1 in just over two hours and 12 minutes.

In comparison, the first set took nearly an hour and the rest of it nearly was on par with the opener. Swiatek in the end finished with 73% of points won behind her first serve and was clinical converting 7/10 break point opportunities.

She joins Karolina Muchova who saw off Maria Sakkari and Marketa Vondrousova in the Quarter-Finals. The latter defeated Sloane Stephens earlier this evening. Jessica Pegula, Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur all to come aiming to join the World No.1.

But aside from a bagel, it was fairly plain sailing after the initial wobble with Swiatek only denied a bagel in the second set by being broken at the final opportunity. Given her recent form which has seen Swiatek vulnerable at times, she is still showing that she has the tennis to hit second gear and blow the opposition away as evidenced this evening.

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Iga signs on the dotted line ✍🏻 Defeating Zheng to secure her spot for the first time in the quarterfinals at @CincyTennis!

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8:21 PM · Aug 17, 2023

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