Play at the Mutua Madrid Open, which was suspended the previous day due to a widespread power failure, resumed on Tuesday with top seed Iga Swiatek taking the court. However, her path to the next round was far from straightforward, as she faced a significant challenge from her opponent.
The defending champion and world number two secured her spot in the quarterfinals by overcoming 13th seed Diana Shnaider in a tough three-set match that lasted 2 hours and 34 minutes. The final score was 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-4. Despite a dominant 22-minute opening set where she didn`t drop a game, Swiatek had to fight fiercely in the subsequent sets, successfully defending against 11 of the 13 break points she faced throughout the contest.
This victory maintains Swiatek`s impressive streak of reaching at least the quarterfinals in every tournament she has played this year (seven events). However, she is still seeking to advance beyond the semifinals for the first time since winning Roland Garros last year. Her opponent in the quarterfinals will be fifth seed Madison Keys, the reigning Australian Open champion, who advanced by defeating 19th seed Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3. This upcoming match will be their first encounter since Keys defeated Swiatek at the Australian Open semifinals after Swiatek held a match point. Overall, Swiatek leads their head-to-head series 4-2, including a perfect 3-0 record on clay surfaces, with all those wins coming in straight sets.
For the four-time French Open champion, reaching the Madrid quarterfinals marks her 17th consecutive appearance at this stage in clay-court tournaments. This impressive run began after her third-round exit against Ashleigh Barty in Madrid in 2021. This streak is the longest on clay since Martina Hingis achieved 19 consecutive clay-court quarterfinals between Hilton Head in 1997 and Hamburg in 2002.
