WTA Madrid: Barty struggles, Swiatek beats Siegemund
At the WTA Tour 1000 tournament in Madrid, the last two French Open winners will meet in the round of 16: Ashleigh Barty and Iga Swiatek .
by tennisnet.com
last edit: May 01, 2021, 03:12 pm
Ashleigh Barty, winner in Roland Garros, opened the Center Court in the Caja Magica against Tamara Zidansek on Saturday. And the world number one had a hard time with the Slovenian. Zidansek played almost as variably as Barty, and on occasion he also increased the tempo. On the other hand, Barty, most recently the winner on hard court in Miami and on Asche at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, spread her forehand enormously, especially in the second set.
In the end, the favorite was able to assert herself 6: 4, 1: 6 and 6: 3. On Monday, Barty will meet Iga Swiatek in the round of 16, who succeeded her as French Open Champion last autumn.
Swiatek defeated Laura Siegemund 6: 3 and 6: 3. Especially at the beginning, the German missed some chances, such as a 0:40 in Swiatek's first service game. Even the Polin did not go easy. Swiatek's parade shots, the kick serve to the outside and the forehand, did not work nearly as well as in her triumph at the Bois de Boulogne in autumn 2020.
In the second set Siegemund made a comeback from 0: 3 to 3: 3, then immediately gave up her serve again. A few moments later, Swiatek managed not to use ten (!) Match balls when the score was 5: 3. With some outrageous mistakes. The eleventh chance after almost 100 minutes of play then sat.
Here the single tableau in Madrid
madridmap