In 2023 Iga Swiatek produced her best Madrid result, reaching the final before falling to Aryna Sabalenka. This year, the World No.1 is looking to make another deep run – and she’s well on her way.
Swiatek blitzed Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, 6-1, 6-1 on Saturday, setting up a fourth-round clash with Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo.
“I'm happy with my performance and especially with the way I kept my intensity from the beginning till the end,” the 22-year-old said after her win. “I don't know. I felt kind of like peaceful and really confident.”
Now 41-4 on her beloved clay since the start of 2022, Swiatek has dropped just seven games through two rounds in Madrid. The faster conditions in play at Madrid, due to altitude, don’t seem to affect her as much as one would think. She is 9-2 lifetime at the venue after today’s win.
Today, playing under a roof due to inclement weather, there wasn’t much Cirstea could do to slow down the three-time Roland-Garros champion.
Swiatek generated 14 break points and broke Cirstea five times to improve to 4-0 lifetime against the 34-year-old World No.30.
The clay juggernaut improves to 67-10 lifetime on clay, and that 87 percent winning percentage on clay is the highest since 2000, per the WTA Tour – only Justine Henin, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Lindsay Davenport have managed to win more than 80 percent of their matches on clay in that time span.
Sorribes Tormo, ranked 55, defeated Victoria Azarenka 7-6(0), 6-3 in two hours and 50 minutes to advance on Saturday. Swiatek holds a 3-0 lifetime edge over the Spaniard.