After 100 weeks at world No 1, Iga Swiatek has become accustomed to flying at altitude. Perhaps that explains why the 22-year-old appears entirely untroubled by the quick conditions at the Madrid Open, where she continued her serene progress on Monday with a breezy 6-1, 6-0 victory over Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Played at roughly 650 metres above sea level, Madrid is the only significant clay-court title to have eluded Swiatek’s grasp, an omission that is often put down to the speed with which the ball travels through the air in the Spanish capital. The received wisdom is that such an environment favours more attacking players, yet the Pole is no slouch in that regard, and so far it is the pace of her own destructive ball-striking that has done the damage.
Swiatek, who was beaten by Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s final, has dropped just eight games en route to the quarter-finals, and while she struggled to find her range initially against Sorribes Tormo, her relentless aggression and consistency ensured there was never any danger of her bring drawn into the kind of clay-court dogfight on which the 55th-ranked Spaniard thrives.
A break in the opening game augured well for Sorribes Tormo, but her relatively passive play from the back of the court emphasised why she has failed to win a set in any of her four meetings with Swiatek.
As Sorribes Tormo lofted up high, spinning moonballs that Swiatek battered into the corners at a lower, pacier trajectory, the baseline exchanges frequently resembled clay pigeon shooting more than clay-court tennis. Retreating deep behind the baseline, the Spaniard ceded too much ground to the world’s best player, enabling Swiatek to step in and patiently open up the angles. A final tally of 27 winners to just three from Sorribes Tormo, who won barely a quarter of her service points, summed up the Pole’s supremacy.
“I adjusted well to what Sara was playing, because she’s a tricky opponent and you can get in trouble quickly, so I’m happy with how efficient and solid I was,” said Swiatek.
“She plays with a lot of spin and it’s hard to close the rallies. So I wanted to be patient, but on the other hand intense, and also not let her use my power, because basically that’s what she does.”
At times, the greatest threat to Swiatek’s progress appeared to be Swiatek herself. Such was the case when she overran a lob in the fifth game, scuttling back to the baseline so rapidly that she lost her bearings and could only watch helplessly as the ball landed a foot or so in front of her. For the most part, however, the Pole was imperious, crunching untouchable forehands, winning backhand-to-backhand duels, showing her range with a feathery drop shot and making decisive ventures to the net.
Beatriz Haddad Maia, who saw off fifth-seeded Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-4 to extend her unbeaten record against the Greek to four matches, should offer a sterner test in the quarter-finals. With her heavy southpaw serve and big forehand, the Brazilian undoubtedly possesses the firepower required to trouble Swiatek, as she demonstrated by defeating the Pole at the 2022 Canadian Open and running her close in the second set of the French Open semi-finals last year. On this form, however, the top seed will take some stopping.
“Bia is a great player with a big serve and a lot of variety and touch on court, so there are plenty of things to look out for, but it doesn’t make sense for me to focus on that,” said Swiatek.
“For sure I’m going to prepare tactically; my coach is going to watch her recent matches, and we’ll also learn from some matches that we played before.
“I’ll focus on myself and I’ll be ready.”
Of that, there can be no doubt. Swiatek, who lost just five points in the second set against Sorribes Tormo, appears ready for anything. Flying at altitude, it will surely take something special to bring her back down to Earth.