From a set down, Swiatek wins 12 of final 14 video games vs. Sakkari in Cincinnati

No. 7 seed Iga Swiatek got here from a set down in opposition to frequent rival and No. 29 seed Maria Sakkari to proceed her Cincinnati Open title protection, advancing 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 to the fourth spherical in 1 hour and 58 minutes.

Swiatek improved to 6-4 general in opposition to Sakkari, and 6-1 because the begin of 2022. Her lone loss to the Greek participant in that timeframe got here on this 12 months’s Doha quarterfinals.

However, the previous World No. 1 has seen an uptick in type throughout this 12 months’s Hard-Court Swing. She snapped an 11-month title drought to say the Toronto title final week, and has now prolonged her profitable streak to eight matches. Swiatek will subsequent face Diane Parry, who defeated Lois Boisson 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in an all-French third-round derby. No. 66-ranked Parry superior to the final 16 at WTA 1000 degree or above for the third time in her profession, following Indian Wells 2024 and Roland Garros 2026.

Swiatek and Parry have performed as soon as earlier than, with Swiatek profitable 6-1, 6-1 within the second spherical of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Swiatek’s comeback by the numbers

“It’s hard to analyze it, honestly,” Swiatek mentioned in her on-court interview. “I felt like I was playing quite good in the first set, sometimes just lacked precision. Played too much to Maria, and she used the opportunities. She was playing faster than me, I feel like, or deeper. I really wanted to start pushing her so she doesn’t get so many opportunities to push me, so I’m happy that in the second set it started working and I played a bit better. She started making mistakes, and I knew the momentum changed a little bit and it was time to push.”

Swiatek could have discovered the match arduous to research, however just a few key statistics are illuminating.

Neither participant was at their greatest off the bottom within the first set — Swiatek dedicated 17 unforced errors and Sakkari 13, each outweighing their winner tally. The Greek participant, nevertheless, served brilliantly. She fired 5 aces, two when serving the set out, and didn’t face a break level — the primary time this season that Swiatek has didn’t generate a break level in a single set.

Two double faults from Swiatek within the opening sport of the second set appeared ominous for the Pole — however she gritted out a maintain, and with it the momentum shift that she talked about. It was as absolute because it was sudden: over the second and third units, Sakkari dedicated 26 unforced errors whereas placing only a single winner (when 4-0 down within the decider).

Meanwhile, Swiatek saved her sport watertight – she tallied 13 winners to twenty unforced errors within the final two units, the same ratio to her first-set numbers — and, as soon as she had saved two break factors to steer 3-0 within the second set, didn’t face one other for the remainder of the competition.