3 – That’s how many matches 22-year-old Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk (21st WTA) won in her last match against the bronze medalist of this year’s Paris Olympics – Iga Swiatek (1st WTA). It took place five months ago at a hardcourt tournament in Indian Wells. The Pole won 6:2, 6:1.
Now the start of the match between Świątek-Kostiuk at the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati was exciting. The Pole easily lost her serve for 15 points. However, the best tennis player in the world reacted excellently – she won four games in a row.
The Ukrainian tried to finish her moves quickly, but she didn’t succeed much. Her coach, former Polish tennis player Sandra Zaniewska, asked her to play more patiently and fight for every point. However, the Pole was definitely more patient. As a result, after 25 minutes she was leading 5:2. In the eighth game, the Ukrainian was broken for the third time in the match. The set ended with an unforced error on her forehand. In total, Kostiuk made as many as eleven unforced errors in this match, compared to only five for Świątek. The Pole also won significantly more points from the first serve (73-43%) and the second serve (50-38%).
– The Polish woman does her job well. The Ukrainian style of play suits the Polish woman perfectly. Some of Kostyuk’s mistakes are terrifying. You might ask yourself: what am I doing? – said the Canal+Sport commentators.
Already at the end of the first game of the second set, Kostyuk was furious. She played an unforced error with a forehand from half the court. After hitting the net, she threw her racket hard. Her anger did not help her, in the second game, after a simple unforced error with a forehand (this time a few meters from the finish line), she lost her serve and lost 0:2.
After a few minutes, Kostyuk seemed almost hopeless. When she served, she was losing 0:3, 15:40. However, she served well several times and broke the five-match streak of the world’s best tennis player. However, she was not able to hold on any longer. In the end, the Ukrainian lost 2:6, 2:6, which means that she won one more game than her previous match in Indian Wells. The battle lasted an hour and eleven minutes.
Świątek had fewer match winners (4-12), but also three fewer unforced errors (8-27). In total, she earned 58 points and her opponent 36.
Iga Swiatek will face the winner of the match in the quarter-finals: Mira Andreeva (RUS, 24th WTA) – Jasmine Paolini (ITA, 5th WTA). Live coverage of the Polish fighter on Sport.pl and in the Sport.pl LIVE app.
Round of 16 in Cincinnati: Iga Swiatek – Marta Kostyuk 6:2, 6:2.
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