Trailing 6-1 2-0, Iga Swiatek turned her match around against one of her biggest rivals to record a statement victory at Roland Garros on Monday.
Swiatek wrested control of what appeared a hopeless situation, completing a 1-6 6-3 7-5 win over Elena Rybakina in two-and-a-half hours of riveting big-stage action.
Notably, it was her first win over Rybakina on clay, at a Grand Slam tournament, and in a third set.
Perhaps more significantly, it infuses her with much-needed belief after what has been a challenging season, all while keeping her title defence on track.
“It means a lot,” said Swiatek, who’d suffered brutal losses to Coco Gauff in Madrid and Danielle Collins in Rome, both tournaments where she was the reigning champion.
“I think I needed that kind of win to feel these feelings that I'm able to win under pressure, and even if it's not going the right way, still turn the match around to win it. For sure it's a great confirmation for me. I for sure wanted to have a match like that.
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“Obviously it's great to also have full control over the match, but against great players, it's not always going to be possible. I'm happy that I fought, and I also problem-solved on court.”
Swiatek entered Roland Garros at world No.5, her lowest ranking in more than three years.
And a menacing last-16 clash against either Rybakina or bogey opponent Jelena Ostapenko loomed when the main-draw brackets were unveiled, something Australian legend Todd Woodbridge circled as a significant test.
"If Iga does get through whoever she plays there, then she becomes the favourite [for Roland Garros]. Because that is a key moment in building confidence,” he said on last week’s episode of The Tennis.
"That round is going to kind of define what we might see in the rest of the tournament."
Early on Monday it seemed Rybakina was the player destined to continue her path through the draw. The 2022 Wimbledon champion played a flawless first set, holding two set points for a 6-0 demolition before Swiatek finally managed to get on the board.
In the second set Rybakina led by an early break, but started losing momentum when she botched a high volley in the third game, and more so when she failed to convert three break points in an epic fifth game.
At the same stage Swiatek, once reluctant to follow coach Wim Fissette’s advice to move back and allow herself more time to retrieve powerful opponents’ strikes, finally embraced the idea.
This paid off; she was able to extend rallies, and eventually overran Rybakina thanks to her superior physicality, consistency and determination.
"It was tough. First set, I felt like I'm playing against Jannik Sinner,” Swiatek said. “Honestly, with her playing like that, I didn't have a lot of hopes. But I just kept fighting.”
From 4-5 down in a compelling third set – four points away from her first loss at the event since the 2021 quarterfinals – Swiatek reeled off three straight games to book a quarterfinal date with Elina Svitolina.
Svitolina had her own challenges in the fourth round, surviving three match points to end Jasmine Paolini’s quest for a second straight final in Paris.
In last year’s final Paolini was overwhelmed 6-2 6-1 by Swiatek, the Pole’s third straight Roland Garros title and fourth in five years.
By reaching this year’s quarterfinals she has won 25 matches in a row at the tournament, equalling Monica Seles’ best streak and trailing only Rafael Nadal, Chris Evert and Bjorn Borg.
No woman has won that many consecutive matches at any major since Serena Williams at the 2015 US Open, and no woman has reached six consecutive quarterfinals at Roland Garros since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the 1990s.
Should Swiatek beat Svitolina, she would equal Margaret Court as the woman with the best Roland winning percentage in Open-era history.
And that would put her a step closer to becoming the first woman in more than 100 years to win four consecutive singles titles in Paris, after Suzanne Lenglen.
Rybakina is someone who thinks the former world No.1 can go all the way.
“I think these tough matches definitely gives you more confidence, and especially when you get further in the draw,” she said.
“She played well in some moments, key moments. She has great intensity. I think she has all the chances.”