Iga Swiatek, the world number two, has often faced tough challenges from Linda Noskova in previous matches. However, in their latest encounter at the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday evening, the match largely proceeded in Swiatek`s favor.
The reigning champion from Poland secured her spot in the tournament`s Round of 16 by defeating Czech player Linda Noskova, the 31st seed, with a score of 6-4, 6-2. This victory marked Swiatek`s eighth consecutive win at the Madrid event. A finalist in Madrid in 2023, Swiatek now boasts a career record of 15-2 at this tournament.
Challenging Early Rounds: Swiatek`s initial opponents in Madrid this year have been young, rising players who have recently posed difficulties for her. Following a first-round bye, Swiatek had to recover after losing the first set to overcome 19-year-old Alexandra Eala from the Philippines, who had previously eliminated Swiatek from the Miami Open last month.
Her next challenge was another match against 20-year-old Noskova, who famously knocked Swiatek out of the 2024 Australian Open on her way to reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Although Swiatek had won their subsequent three main-draw meetings on the WTA tour, these victories often required considerable effort. Their last two WTA encounters, at Miami in 2024 and Doha in 2025 (Note: 2025 seems incorrect in the source and is likely a typo for 2024 or earlier), were gripping battles lasting two and a half hours each, with Swiatek ultimately prevailing with identical 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 scorelines.
A key factor in the Madrid match might have been the surface, as this was their first clay court meeting. Swiatek has an exceptional record on clay in WTA 1000 main draws, winning nearly 90 percent of her matches (35-4 after this win). While Noskova kept the first set competitive until the end, Swiatek managed to win the crucial points, enabling her to gain control and ultimately ease to victory.
Key Moments: During Saturday`s match, Noskova demonstrated the powerful groundstrokes that have often troubled Swiatek. Even after Swiatek secured a break to lead 4-3 with deep returns, she still needed to save a break point in the following game to consolidate her advantage.
Serving for the first set at 5-3, Swiatek recovered from 0-30 down to earn set points. Noskova fought back with powerful backhand winners to save the first two opportunities. However, Swiatek capitalized on her third set point when Noskova made an error, securing the tightly contested opening set.
Once Swiatek broke Noskova`s serve in the first game of the second set, the match became significantly more straightforward compared to their previous lengthy encounters. Swiatek faced little further resistance and completed the win in 1 hour and 17 minutes. She maintained a perfect record on break points during the match, converting all four opportunities.
Looking Ahead: In the upcoming Round of 16, Swiatek is set to play against the 13th seed, Diana Shnaider. Shnaider has been dominant in her matches this week, having defeated Katie Volynets 6-1, 6-2 after a first-round bye, and then delivering a commanding 6-0, 6-0 victory over Anastasija Sevastova.
This will mark the first career meeting between Swiatek and the 21-year-old left-handed player, Shnaider.
More to come…
Rupert Caldwell