By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday March 25, 2024
Ekaterina Alexandrova powered past Iga Swiatek with a confident display of first-strike tennis on Monday in Miami.
Photo Source: Getty
Ekaterina Alexandrova was all over Iga Swiatek from the start of Monday night’s clash with the top seed at the Miami Open. The Russian never let up – and never faltered – as she cruised to an eye-catching 6-4 6-2 victory and ended the Sunshine Double hopes of the 22-year-old Pole.
Alexandrova, seeded 14th, went aggro against Swiatek’s first serve, stepping inside the baseline and taking big swings, and the strategy paid off as she cracked a total of 31 winners and kept the World No.1 on the back foot for much of the 84-minute contest
The 29-year-old earned six break points and converted three, as she claimed 15 of 40 first-serve return points and 9 of 16 second-serve return points with brave and lethal return strikes.
Big victories are not foreign territory for Alexandrova, but Monday was a special occasion -- she had never faced a reigning World No.1 prior to Monday. The Russian earned her fifth Top-5 win overall (5-17) and will try to match her career-best finish in Miami (quarterfinal, 2023) on Wednesday when she faces fifth-seeded Jessica Pegula.
Pegula took out fellow American Emma Navarro 7-6(1), 6-3 on Monday.
In achieving her second victory over Swiatek in five encounters, Alexandrova hit 31 winners to just 11 for Swiatek as she improved to 8-4 lifetime on the fast-playing hard courts of Miami.
Swiatek drops to 22-3 on the season and 9-2 at Miami, where she won the title in 2022.
The Pole did not break serve once in the match – only the third time that has ever happened to her in a WTA 1000 contest.
The quarterfinals are set in Miami, with the top three seeds all missing from the lineup. Here is how the matchups shape up: