Iga Swiatek has seen her eight-match winning streak come to an end, losing to Ekaterina Alexandrova in the fourth round of the Miami Open.
Iga Swiatek was beaten by the Russian, 4-6 2-6, bringing an end to the world No.1’s bid to complete the sunshine double for a second time.
The Pole reflected on her second straight sets defeat of the season, “Disappointed, for sure, because I thought I was going to play better here in Miami.
“She played an amazing match and for sure, she was the better player out there today. Her serve, I had a hard time reading it. I got a little bit tense when I couldn’t return well.”
Iga Swiatek added, “I was feeling that I couldn’t play in a natural way but it’s not like I always feel comfortable on court. I thought I would be able to work through that.”
It was the first time that Swiatek had not broken serve in a match at a WTA 1000 tournament since playing Ons Jabeur in Cincinnati back in 2021.
Iag Swiatek’s opponent, Alexandrova, spoke about the biggest win of her career after the match, “We played quite a few times before and sometimes it was three sets. I think sometimes I was quite close to it but still far away.”
The world No.16 continued, “Winning against her, of course it feels great. I’m not sure if it’s a surprise or not, but I just worked quite hard on the court, and it paid off.
“Second quarter-final here, second year in a row. Beating Iga after so many tries and she’s No.1, it’s the first time I beat a No.1. All three things are very special to me.”
Alexandrova will play fifth seed Jessica Pegula tomorrow, in an attempt to reach the second WTA 1000 semi-final of her career.
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Whereas Swiatek will now have a couple of weeks off, before Poland’s Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier tie against Switzerland between 12th and 13th April.
The 22-year-old will then kick-off her clay court season at the WTA 500 event in Stuttgart, where Swiatek has claimed the title over the past two years.
