World No 1 shows her class in straight-sets win over Australian Open finalist Qinwen Zheng
If Iga Swiatek does go on to complete the Middle East Masters double, no one could accuse her of doing it the easy way.
Straight from winning her third straight Qatar Open title last Saturday, the world No 1 was on a plane to the UAE to compete in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Swiatek, along with the other top eight seeds in Dubai, was afforded a bye through to the second round so she at least had Monday to adjust. Since starting her tournament, though, she’s faced nothing but top opposition.
First up was Sloane Stephens, a player who may now be ranked just outside the top 40 but is starting to show signs of the form that took her to the US Open title in 2017 and up to third in the world.
Then came world No 20 Elina Svitolina – a two-time champion in Dubai who has surged back up the rankings since returning in April last year from having a baby.
So on to Thursday and the quarter-finals, where Swiatek faced one of the brightest young stars on the WTA Tour and last month’s Australian Open finalist, Qinwen Zheng.
Once again, the top seed displayed her class to emerge victorious 6-3, 6-2 even if the match was much closer than the scoreline suggested.
Swiatek started fast, breaking Zheng’s serve immediately with her only break point of the opening set. Zheng had one break point of her own in the next game but was unable to take it, and with neither player offering any further opportunities on serve, it was the Pole who claimed a 1-0 lead.
The margins were similarly close for half of the second set as world No 7 Zheng failed to convert on her first break opportunity in the fourth game. Yet, Swiatek made no mistake when given an opening in the next game, and that seemed to take the wind out of Zheng’s sails.
From there, Swiatek seized all the momentum, winning four straight games to seal her seventh successive victory in 86 minutes and her sixth in a row against Zheng.
“We always have tight matches, it’s always intense and hard, so I’m proud of myself that I was really focused today and I kept pushing,” Swiatek, 22, said.
“Every day I’m feeling more comfortable here. I’ve already played plenty of matches on this court, so I can feel at home and just focus on playing.”
