Swiatek recovers from 0-6 to beat Keys in quarterfinals

Iga Swiatek recovered after losing the first six games of the match to defeat Madison Keys 0-6 6-3 6-2 and stay on track to defend her title at the Madrid Open on Wednesday.

Swiatek was overpowered by Keys early in their quarterfinal but eventually found a way to rally past the fifth-ranked American on centre court.”It was one of the weirdest matches I played,” the second-ranked Swiatek said. “Maddie was playing just perfectly at the beginning and I wasn’t really proactive with anything. I let Maddie do more mistakes by just putting the ball back and the momentum changed.”

It was the first meeting between the two since Swiatek squandered a match point in the semifinals of the Australian Open that was won by Keys.

Swiatek will next face Coco Gauff, who eased past Mirra Andreeva with a 7-5 6-1 win.

Swiatek is trying to reach her third straight Madrid final. She beat Aryna Sabalenka last year after losing to her in 2023.

Swiatek hasn’t gone past the semifinals at any tournament since last year’s French Open.