Defending champion Iga Swiatek maches on at Madrid Open

By SABC Sport
27th April 2025

World No. 2 Iga Swiatek completed a straight-set 6-4, 6-2 third-round victory over Linda Noskova at the Madrid Masters.

Swiatek has contested some tough battles with Noskova, who beat her at the 2024 Australian Open, but she has now won her last five matches against the Czech and leads the head-to-head 6-1.

"I'm happy with my focus and my attitude today," Swiatek said in her on-court interview. "It wasn't easy at the beginning, but I'm happy I just kept calm, even when Linda broke me. It was a good match for sure.

"Every match that [Noskova and I] played was really with high intensity, and really good quality. I knew it's going to be a challenge, but I just kept being focused on myself. And we kind of know each other's game. I'm happy that I was more solid at the end."

The Pole is seeking her first title since she secured her fourth French Open crown and fifth Grand Slam overall in June last year. She has not reached a final since her Roland Garros triumph.

Swiatek's win against Noskova improved her win-loss record at the Madrid Open to a stellar 15-2 (88.2%) from the 17 matches she has played at the tournament.

In the process, she has equalled Serena Williams' record for the fewest matches taken to record 15 wins at the Madrid Open since the tournament was introduced.

Williams is a two-time Madrid Open winner, having won the event in 2012 and 2013, and she amassed a 20-3 record across her six appearances in the Spanish capital.

Swiatek made her Madrid debut in 2021, losing in the third round to Ashleigh Barty.

The 23-year-old missed the event in 2022 before reaching the final in 2023, when she was beaten by Aryna Sabalenka.

In 2024, Swiatek gained her revenge on Sabalenka in an epic Madrid championship match to claim her maiden title.

Swiatek will face world No. 13 Diana Shnaider in the last 16 of the Madrid Open on Monday.

It will be her first meeting with the 21-year-old Russian star.

Shnaider dismantled 35-year-old Latvian Anastasija Sevastova 6-0, 6-0 in her third-round match. Sevastova had upset Swiatek's nemesis and recent Stuttgart Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the second round.