Iga Swiatek recovers to beat Linda Noskova and make last 16 in Miami - 'No sense to talk about Sunshine Double'

ByRob Hemingway

Published 25/03/2024 at 07:31 GMT

Iga Swiatek recovered from an early scare to beat familiar foe Linda Noskova and make the last 16 in Miami, where she will play Ekaterina Alexandrova. Swiatek looked in trouble at a set down against her 19-year-old opponent who sensationally knocked her out of January's Australian Open, but the No. 1 seed battled the conditions to come through in three sets.

Iga Swiatek is through to the last 16 in Miami after coming through another tough battle against young Czech star Linda Noskova, 6-7(9) 6-4 6-4.

Noskova famously knocked out Swiatek at the Australian Open earlier this year in what constituted a huge shock, and the 19-year-old was on course to do the same in Florida when she took the first set on a tie-break.

However the No. 1 seed - who also faced Noskova on her way to the Indian Wells title earlier this month - fought hard and emerged victorious over three sets in two hours, 33 minutes.

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"As you can see, it's not like we can take everything for granted," Swiatek said afterwards.

"You can be in trouble at the early stages of the tournament. No sense to talk about Sunshine Double [after Swiatek's triumph at Indian Wells].

"For sure, I'm taking just experience from this match and I know what I have to focus on little bit more because it wasn't like I felt 100 per cent comfortable all the time.

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"I mean, I thought it's going to be easier to get used to the new conditions and new balls, but it's been tricky today."

Noskova completes stunning comeback victory over Swiatek - Australian Open highlights

Looking ahead after her mixed display, the Pole added: "You know that I'm an over-thinker. Usually the best tactic for me is to let it go.

"I want to use this experience. I'm pretty sure tomorrow I'm going to do that if everything goes well. Usually also these kinds of things just settle in my head on their own.

"I'm just going to trust that it's going to be like that again."

Swiatek will face 14th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16 as she continues her bid to become only the second woman to win the Sunshine Double twice, after Steffi Graf.

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