Tennis fans, brace yourselves for a recap of a match that had us all on the edge of our seats! Iga Swiatek, the reigning queen of the hard courts, faced a formidable challenge from Sloane Stephens in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The clash of these titans ended with Swiatek securing her spot in the last 16 with a 6-4, 6-4 victory, setting up an exciting encounter with Elina Svitolina.
Swiatek, who had a stellar run to the final in Dubai last year, had every reason to feel confident against Stephens. After all, she had triumphed over the former world No. 3 in their last two hard-court meetings in 2022. However, Stephens was not going down without a fight, leading the top seed by a break thrice in the first set.
The match was a rollercoaster from the get-go, with Stephens looking to notch only her third Top 10 victory since 2021. Despite her early lead, she couldn’t consolidate, and Swiatek clawed back, capturing the final three games of the set. Swiatek admitted, ‘I was putting a lot of power into my shots and she was using it pretty well, reading the game well, as well. I needed to focus more on tactics than just hitting hard.’
The second set saw Swiatek escape a 0-40 hole and ramp up the pressure on Stephens’ serve. With backhand winners flying off her racket, Stephens was forced to fend off four break chances in a nail-biting sixth game. Though Stephens saved two more break points in her next service game, Swiatek was relentless, earning match point and clinching victory with a forehand winner that was nothing short of spectacular.
Swiatek’s stats were impressive, with 21 winners to Stephens’ 16, and she created 15 break points over the nearly two-hour contest. After the first set, she didn’t drop a single service game, converting five break points to Stephens’ none.
Next up for Swiatek is a third-round clash with Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, who’s been on a tear since returning from maternity leave. Despite an injury setback at the Australian Open, Svitolina has been strong in Dubai, winning her second straight-set match of the week. Swiatek reflected on their upcoming match, ‘We have a lot of respect for each other and have worked together for Ukraine. We played a tough match at Wimbledon, but I learned a lot and I’m just going to try and learn my lesson so I can play a bit better.’
Swiatek’s victory in Dubai comes hot on the heels of her third consecutive Doha title, won just days before. The top-seeded Pole had to dig deep to overcome Stephens in a match that saw eight breaks of serve and a whopping 23 break points. Swiatek acknowledged the intensity of the match, saying, ‘We had a lot of tight games. I really needed to perform a little bit better in those important moments because I couldn’t convert some break points. But I’m happy that at the end I did.’
Meanwhile, the tournament saw second seed Aryna Sabalenka fall to Donna Vekic, attributing her defeat to the ‘tricky’ conditions in Dubai. On the other hand, Vekic, ranked 31st, embraced a relaxed approach, joking, ‘I didn’t have big expectations coming to Dubai. Told my coach that I’m taking this week as half holidays. Maybe that’s a good way going forward.’
As the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships continue to unfold, we can’t wait to see what Swiatek and the other top contenders will bring to the court. With high-quality matches like Swiatek vs. Stephens, the tournament is proving to be a thrilling spectacle for tennis aficionados worldwide.
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