By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, August 16, 2024
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek swept Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-2 to power into the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals for the second straight year.
Photo credit: Robert Prange/Getty
Festering frustration erupted as Marta Kostyuk tossed her racquet to the court at the start of the second set.
An oppressive Iga Swiatek disarmed an error-prone Kostyuk with 4-1 starts to both sets then dismissed the Ukrainian 6-2, 6-2 to reach the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals for the second straight year.
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It is Swiatek’s 18th career WTA 1000 quarterfinal in just her 31st appearance in 1000-level tournaments. Only Serena Williams (24), Maria Sharapova (25) and Agnieszka Radwanska (30) needed fewer appearances to make 18 WTA 1000 quarterfinal appearances.
World No. 1 Swiatek will play either fifth-seeded Jasmine Paolini in what would be a rematch of the Roland Garros final or talented teenager Mirra Andreeva for a return to the Cincinnati semifinals.
Reigning Roland Garros champion Swiatek arrived in the Queen City seeking to reset after seeing Yulia Putintseva snap her 21-match winning streak in the Wimbledon third round before Zheng Qinwen shattered Swiatek’s gold-medal dreams with an upset at the Paris Olympic Games on Roland Garros’ red clay.
Today, Swiatek dropped serve to start the match then got her game in gear. Swiatek did not face a break point the rest of the match and won 22 of 31 first-serve points in a 70-minute victory.
"Going on court without my routines was for sure a little bit tricky," Swiatek told Tennis Channel's Prakash Amritraj afterward. "We didn’t warm-up in the morning so we went on court straightaway. I’m happy that I was able to play my kind of game.
"It was much more windy and more humid because of the rain in the morning. I was happy I was able to adjust."
The 2022 US Open champion, who has been sensitive about playing with the US Open Wilson ball used in Cincinnati in the past, played assertive ball-control tennis today.
The pair traded breaks to open the match.
Straddling the baseline, Swiatek was moving Kostyuk more frequently as the set progressed. Kostyuk missed a diagonal forehand wide as Swiatek broke for a 3-1 opening set lead.
After dropping serve to open the match, Swiatek served with clarity reeling off 10 consecutive point on her serve through the end of the opening set.
Spraying successive errors, Kostyuk surrendered serve for the third time as Swiatek snatched the opening set in 30 minutes.
While you can’t fault the Ukrainian for trying to take the initiative and play periods of first-strike tennis, Kostyuk simply couldn’t keep the ball between the lines enough to bother Swiatek in the opening set.
The 22-year-old Kostyuk showed her frustration at the start of the second set. Swiatek coaxed another error to hold prompting Kostyuk to toss her Wilson Blade to the blue court in disgust.
Swiatek was striking deep drives as she navigated a deuce hold for her fifth straight game and a 3-0 lead.
A sharp Swiatek reeled off eight of the last 10 points to seal the win—her third over Kostyuk in as many meetings—and raise her 2024 record to 52-6.