Iga Swiatek survives ‘extraordinary day’ to confirm No 1 ranking for another week

Shahida Jacobs
Iga Swiatek in action
Iga Swiatek of Poland reacts

Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova’s much-anticipated Canadian Open match stretched over nine hours due to rain and in the end it was the world No 1 who survived.

In a rematch of this year’s Roland Garros final that also went the distance with Swiatek winning, the pair’s third-round clash at the WTA 1000 event in Montreal had a similar feel to it.

Swiatek won the opening set before Muchova hit back in the second, but the Pole eventually prevailed as she won 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 with the official match time clocked at two hours and 47 minutes although the match lasted more than nine hours as there were two lengthy rain breaks.

“You have to find energy even though we’ve been here since 9am,” Swiatek said. “For sure, it was a pretty extraordinary day, and I don’t think I’ve had such a situation in my career so there is the opportunity to learn something new and see what I’m capable – even though we played this match like three times.”

It was an up and down match for Swiatek as she dominated the first set with breaks in games four and six.

Muchova then hit back strongly in the second as she broke in game four only for the Pole to get back on serve three games later. However, both struggled to hold serve and three more breaks followed with Muchova’s break to love in game 10 taking the match to a decider.

But the rain then came down hard and players went off for an extended break.

When they returned, Swiatek took charge immediately as she broke in the opening game of the third set and never relinquished the advantage.

“For sure I hit ups and downs, and I felt that,” the Pole said. “I did some mistakes in the second set that are kind of – you can’t do that if you want to win matches at that stage.

“So for sure Karolina is the kind of player who is using these chances and situations, and she also put pressure in these moments, but I wanted to kind of reset and go into the third set with new energy and move a little bit better.”

The win means Swiatek is assured of staying top of the WTA Rankings for another week as Aryna Sabalenka can’t catch her – even if the Belarusian wins the title. The end result is a 72nd consecutive week at No 1.

The Pole will take on Danielle Collins for a place in the semi-final after the American continued her fine run with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Leylah Fernandez.

READ MORE: Iga Swiatek’s 2023 tennis schedule: Where is she competing next and her season so far…

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