FORMER CHAMPION Iga Swiatek earned a 7-6(2), 6-1 win over Belgian 27th seed Elise Mertens that made the Polish second seed the first player to reach the last 16 of a WTA 1000 event in 25 consecutive appearances.
Swiatek built a seemingly comfortable 5-2 lead in the first set but Mertens managed to claw back to 5-5 before the Pole ran away with the tiebreaker and breezed through the second frame.
“I’m happy that I got my level up in the tiebreaker to close it in two sets. Also in the second set I felt like I was playing good, big confidence,” said Swiatek. “Yeah, overall I’m happy with the performance and how I worked through some issues.”
Up next for Swiatek will be Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who beat Czech 15th seed Karolina Muchova 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 and is looking to build on her run to the Indian Wells quarterfinal where she lost to eventual champion Mirra Andreeva.
In other women’s action, Andreeva’s bid for a “Sunshine Double” ended as American 17th seed Amanda Anismova beat the Russian 11th seed 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-3.
Anisimova will next face former US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who advanced after American McCartney Kessler retired due to a lower back injury while trailing the Briton 6-1, 3-0.
American fourth seed Jessica Pegula rallied to beat Russian Anna Kalinskaya 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-6(2) and will face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the fourth round. — Reuters
