Iga Swiatek Dominates Clay-Court Opener, Victory Over Elise Mertens in Stuttgart 2024
Iga Swiatek, the reigning world No. 1, commenced her 2024 clay-court campaign at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix with a commanding victory over Elise Mertens, advancing to the quarterfinals in her quest to defend the title.
At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in 2024, Iga Swiatek got off to a great start on the clay court, defeating Elise Mertens 6-3, 6-4 to get to the quarterfinals in her title defense.
On the court, Swiatek remarked, “It doesn’t really matter what happened in the past; I played many tough matches here.” Since this is my first match since last year, I just wanted to play as hard as I could and acclimate to the court. I’m pleased with my performance; I won in two sets by playing well.”
The world No. 1, who has won the title in Stuttgart the past two seasons, executed a flawless comeback from competing in the Billie Jean King Cup on hard courts, navigating a difficult match at moments to defeat her opponent who was ranked lower and maintain her perfect record in Stuttgart.
In fact, Swiatek has been the most reliable player on the circuit in 2024. Although the 22-year-old had to withdraw early from the Australian Open, he skillfully made up for it by winning the WTA 1000 titles at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open and the BNP Paribas Open, and then guiding Poland to a 4-0 BJK Cup victory over Switzerland.
It was easy for her to adjust to playing on her preferred clay courts right away against Mertens, the former world No. 12 who has a tendency to play her best tennis on faster surfaces.
In her first encounter with the Belgian, Swiatek jumped out to a 5-1 lead and overcame a mid-set set slip-up to recover from a 0-30 disadvantage to close out the set on her second chance.
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Similar shifts in momentum occurred in the second set as Swiatek overcame an early break to take the lead at three games apiece. Mertens persisted in her pressure, but Swiatek was unfazed, solidifying the lead with some excellent serving to move herself one game away from the final eight.
Swiatek produced a fourth match point with a strong backhand and sealed the win with a final forehand winner, after Mertens saving three match chances with a combination of defense and deep hitting.
The 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu will be up against Linda Noskova, who defeated Swiatek in Australia but lost her last two meetings with the Pole in Indian Wells and Miami, in an attempt to build on her impressive victory over former world No. 1 Angelique Kerber.
