Indian Wells 2022 - Iga Swiatek reaches quarter finals with another comeback success at the expense of Angelique Kerber
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Updated 15/03/2022 at 23:53 GMT
Iga Swiatek once again hit the comeback trail as she defeated Angie Kerber 4-6 6-2 6-3 in a hard-fought tussle in round four at the BNP Paribas Open. The Pole produced a plethora of unforced errors but found a way to see off the veteran German who appeared to tire in the decider. Swiatek is hoping to add to the Qatar Open title she won at the end of February.
Iga Swiatek, of Poland, hits a backhand return to Angelique Kerber, of Germany, in their Round 4 match at the Indian Wells tennis tournament
Image credit: Getty Images
Iga Swiatek edged past Angelique Kerber in a high calibre battle of former Grand Slam champions in round four at Indian Wells.
The 20-year-old Pole came from a set down for the third straight encounter on the Californian hard courts to secure a 4-6 6-2 6-3 triumph in two hours and eight minutes.
It sees Swiatek extend her winning streak to eight matches overall and sets up a last eight showdown against Madison Keys following the American's win over British qualifier Harriet Dart.
Speaking on-court following the victory, Swiatek joked: “I wish I could win a match in two sets right now! But I’m glad to be able to come back and it’s such a great experience playing against Angie. It’s an honour to play against her.
“It was pretty tricky because sometimes she was just giving it back and if I wanted to attack there was more risk to make a mistake. Other times she was attacking when I played slower, so it was hard to balance it, but I think in important moments I was patient and that was the key I guess.”
Kerber was quickest out of the traps as she snared an instant break with a quite sumptuous lob. Swiatek hit right back but it was former world number one, Kerber, who ultimately dictated the pattern of the first set with her aggression.
The number three seed looked rattled as her serve was continually dissected by the 34-year-old German and her unforced error count increased at an alarming rate.
Kerber notched up a double break to lead 5-2 but a twitchy spell saw her broken as she served for the set. Swiatek tried to amp up the pressure at 5-4 but once again a raft of mistakes trying to force the initiative proved her undoing, allowing the veteran number 15 seed to claim the set at the second time of asking after 52 pulsating minutes.
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Angelique Kerber of Germany celebrates at the BNP Paribas Open
Image credit: Getty Images
Slow starts have been something of a habit for Swiatek. The 2020 French Open champion had spoken of using Rafael Nadal’s never-say-die spirit as an inspiration and she appeared more assured as Set 2 commenced with a morale-boosting break.
Kerber, who was 0-2 in 2022 prior to wins over Qinwen Zheng and Daria Kasatkina in the desert, believes she is belatedly finding rhythm following a difficult off-season, but she looked short of full match fitness here as Swiatek completely dominated to race clear and force a decider.
Reducing the number of unforced errors was key to the success of the recent Qatar Open champion, improving from an eye-watering 28 in Set 1 to a much more palatable nine in the second. As a result, the momentum was evidently with Swiatek, but it was Kerber who found a second wind to unload a stunning backhand up the line and break for a 3-2 lead.
Another twist was just around the corner though, as Swiatek's blockbusting groundstrokes hit their marks in timely fashion to drag her back to 3-3 before she made the killer breakthrough to lead 5-3. The Pole then served out the match despite ending with 48 unforced errors in total.
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