Tennis

Defending Champion Swiatek Motors Into Stuttgart Quarter-Finals

 

World number one and defending champion Iga Swiatek progressed to the quarter-finals of the WTA Stuttgart clay-court tournament by beating Elise Mertens in straight sets on Thursday, her ninth win in nine career matches at the French Open warm-up event.

Swiatek beat the unseeded Belgian 6-3, 6-4 to maintain her bid to capture a third successive title in the German city and be handed the keys to a third luxury car from the sponsors after also winning the tournament in 2022.

“There’s always space for a Porsche. If not, we’ll make it. I’ll build an underground garage,” said Swiatek after playing her first clay-court match since lifting the French Open title last June.

The Pole burst out of the blocks to set up a 5-1 lead in the first set, before going 0-30 down but recovering to serve out the set.

Swiatek was broken early in the second but served her way back into the set, winning with a forehand on her fourth match point after Mertens had saved the previous three.

“This is not an easy tournament. Everyone is really motivated to win that car,” Swiatek added.

READ ALSO: Gauff, Raducanu Shine In Stuttgart

The top seed will face former US Open champion Emma Raducanu for a place in the semi-finals.

Raducanu, who helped Britain qualify for the Billie Jean King Cup finals last weekend, took down Czech teenager Linda Noskova 6-0, 7-5.

It will be a first quarter-final appearance for Raducanu in 19 months. She has been plagued by a raft of injuries since her 2021 Grand Slam breakthrough and missed much of last season.

Earlier Thursday, Elena Rybakina beat Veronika Kudermetova 7-6 (7/3), 1-6, 6-4, continuing her strong form in 2024.

The Kazakh world number four, who has already claimed titles at Brisbane and Abu Dhabi in 2024, beat the Russian in two hours 33 minutes.

“I know I have my weapon, my serve. I know I can always serve it out in tough moments. Not always, but this is a strength,” Rybakina said.

Rybakina will be playing in her seventh quarter-final of the season on Friday where she will face Jasmine Paolini who put out Ons Jabeur 7-6 (10/8), 6-4.

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova defeated Anastasia Potapova 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 in her last 16 clash.

AFP

Emmanuel Egobiambu

Disqus Comments Loading...

Recent Posts

Naira Best Performing Currency Globally, Says CBN 

The naira lost massively against major currencies in the past few months. But it has appreciated…

38 mins ago

Arsenal Shake Off Bayern Hangover Against Wolves, Regain EPL Leadership

Arsenal Shake Off Bayern Hangout Against Wolves, Regain EPL Leadership

2 hours ago

Ododo Hails Conduct Of Ondo APC Gov Primary

Some aspirants complained about the late arrival of materials in some areas, but Ododo said…

3 hours ago

Shettima Optimistic Naira Will Continue To Appreciate Against Dollar

The nation's currency exchanges (as of now) for around N1,200 to a dollar at the…

4 hours ago

58 Die After Boat Capsizes In Central Africa

The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief but got into difficulty…

4 hours ago

Man City Edge Wasteful Chelsea, Condemn Blues To Trophyless Season

Manchester City defeated a wasteful Chelsea side 1-0 in the semi-final of the FA Cup,…

4 hours ago