A nightmare start characterized the round of 16 of WTA No.1 WTA Iga Swiatek, at the Western & Southern Open, in Cincinnati. The Pole did not make up for the disconcerting start to the match and saw Qinwen Zheng lead by a set.
Swiatek’s reaction was not long in coming and she left the Chinese girl breathless. The Pole completely reversed her trend, taking home the first five games of the second set and overwhelmed her opponent 6-1.
The decisive set respected, as expected, the same and identical trend of the second, with another 6-1.
Below the highlights of the match shared by the WTA YouTube page:
The other challenges
No problem for the champion of the last edition of Wimbledon Marketa Vondrousova, who defeated the home player Sloane Stephens in straight sets. Elena Rybakina withdrew, struggling with some physical problems, in the match against Jasmine Paolini.
Donna Vekic witdrawn at 2-5, so Ons Jabeur got the quarterfinals of the tournament. The Tunisian will face number two Aryna Sabalenka. The Grand Slam champion overtook Daria Kasatkina to win the eighth final: a 6-3 before the rain interruption, and a 6-3 after her return. Coco Gauff beat Noskova 6-4, 6-0.
In the men’s singles, Taylor Fritz, after the end of the rain, took advantage of Jeri Lehecka’s withdrawal, after five games played and all won by the American: 20 points for him, 0 for the Czech tennis player. Carlos Alcaraz also won his match, after being stopped by rain after a horror tie-break against Tommy Paul.
In the second half, however, it was the Spanish tennis player who took the court better. So he closes the round of 16 match 7-6, 6-7, 6-3.
Novak Djokovic took his rivalry with Gael Monfils to another level. No one has such a losing margin against another tennis player in tennis history: 19-0. The last defeat came in the round of 16 of the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati.
The Serbian tennis player won with the result of 6-3 6-2. The former world number one still doesn’t play the best tennis of him, still hunting for physical condition after the Wimbledon final and in view of the US Open.
His talent and determination, however, were enough against the French player, always in trouble against the 23 times Grand Slam champion: history said it and this match said it too.
In the first set, however, the Serbian conceded nothing to his opponent. Both drop in the second set, especially the Frenchman, but the only break point provided by Djokovic at the end of the set avoids a possible bagel for Monfils. In the quarterfinals, Nole will face Taylor Fritz.