Swiatek bounces back to defeat Haddad Maia in Madrid quarters

No.1 seed Iga Swiatek came from a set down to book her place in her second straight Mutua Madrid Open semifinal, defeating No.11 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 in 2 hours and 29 minutes.

Back at Toronto 2022, Swiatek lost her first career encounter with Haddad Maia in the third round. She has now won three straight matches over the Brazilian, having also trumphed in last year's Roland Garros semifinals and at this year's United Cup.

The Pole advances to her fifth semifinal of 2024 so far, and the 15th of her career at WTA 1000 level. She will face either No.8 seed and 2022 champion Ons Jabeur or No.18 seed Madison Keys.

Swiatek's second-set scoreline also tied her with Coco Gauff for the most number of 6-0 sets won in 2024 to date. Both have notched seven such sets, two ahead of third-placed Aryna Sabalenka with five.

How the match was won: Though Swiatek took an early 4-1 lead in the first set, the World No.1 was far from her best in a scrappy opening passage of play. She had squandered triple break point in the second game thanks to cheap backhand misfires, and had needed to save break point in two of her own service games.

Haddad Maia had also started slowly, conceding her serve in the fourth game with a double fault. However, once her big forehand strikes began finding the court, she was able to take advantage of Swiatek's vulnerability on serve to reel off five straight games for the set.

After committing 13 unforced errors to only eight winners in the opener, Swiatek responded in style. Raising her intensity in every department, she rattled through a run of eight games in a row, smothering Haddad Maia with both offense and defense. Swiatek lowered her error count to five in the second set, during which she did not face a break point and dropped only 12 points in total. By contrast, Haddad Maia found only one winner against 14 unforced errors.

Swiatek took her momentum deep into the third set, building a quick 4-1 lead. With her back to the wall, Haddad Maia was able to land a few more accurate blows, and Swiatek had to work harder to close out the win. She was up to the task, unleashing a pair of heavy forehands to seal victory.

In Swiatek's words: "I needed to for sure stick to the tactics, because in the first set I started making too many mistakes. I started playing too fast.

"I just needed to really get back to basics and what I wanted to play today. It took me a while, longer than usual, but I'm glad that it happened after the set anyway."