Iga Swiatek was trailing 4–6 and 2–5. Then the struggling star staged a remarkable comeback.
Iga Swiatek staged a spectacular comeback at the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing. The eighth seed from Poland was already trailing 4–6 and 2–5 against Donna Vekic, but managed to turn the match around to win 4–6, 7–6 (0), 6–2. After two hours and 40 minutes, Swiatek secured her place in the round of 16 and extended her flawless record against the Croatian to 5–0.
Vekic had the match under control well into the second set. After winning the set, the Croatian broke Swiatek’s serve twice and was just one game away from victory. However, the Polish player stepped up the pressure on her return games, managed to re-break to level at 5–5 and dominated the tie-break without dropping a single point. In the deciding set, the two players initially traded breaks before Swiatek struck again at 3–2 and held on to her lead to see out the match.
Swiatek avoids defeat
For the former Beijing champion, this was her 40th appearance in a WTA 1000 last-16 match of her career. Swiatek also celebrated her 147th victory at this level. In the last 16, she will now face Iva Jovic. The tenth-seeded American had previously beaten Kamilla Rakhimova 6–1, 7–5.
Swiatek was once world number one and has already won six Grand Slams, but she is now a long way from her best form. This year, she has not progressed beyond the quarter-finals at any Grand Slam tournament. She is currently ranked ninth in the world. Now, following her impressive comeback against Vekic, a strong finish to the season could still be on the cards.
