Iga Swiatek has been a familiar face in the final stages of the Mutua Madrid Open each year but the 2024 champion had to bid farewell to the Caja Magica earlier than usual as she retired from her third-round match against Ann Li on Saturday due to a stomach virus.
The six-time Grand Slam winner split the opening two sets with Li before she was broken early in the decider. Trailing 0-2 in the final set, Swiatek asked for the doctor and had her vitals checked before eventually retiring a game later with Li leading 7-6(4), 2-6, 3-0.
Swiatek explained after the match that she has been struggling with a virus the last two days but still wanted to try to compete on Saturday, hoping she had enough in her to advance to the round of 16.
“I’m sure I’ll be fine in a couple of days, but I had zero energy and zero stability and just felt really bad physically, and yesterday even worse,” said Swiatek, who has retired mid-match just twice in her entire career. “I thought maybe today it’s going to be better, maybe it was, but not enough to play a tennis match.”
Overall, Swiatek has been feeling positive about her game during these early weeks of her new partnership with Spanish coach Francis Roig, who worked for many years with Rafael Nadal.
She enjoyed her time off court in Madrid, and got the chance to hit with Real Madrid star ‘keeper Thibaut Courtois on a specially-constructed clay court on the pitch of the famed Bernabeu.
“I had some good time off the court. On the court before the tournament I felt like I’m playing great, so actually it’s sad for me that I can’t play, because I was feeling really good with my game, and I was moving forward in the process, so, this was positive,” said the world No.4.
“But for me the tournament has just started and I couldn’t even compete today, so it’s disappointing.”
On her part, Li said she felt “super sorry” that Swiatek had to retire from their first tour-level showdown, but is happy to get the chance to fight for a maiden WTA 1000 quarter-final spot.
“I played her once in juniors a long, long time ago, so I was looking forward to it,” said the 25-year-old Li.
“I definitely knew it was going to be a tough match, and I’m super sorry for her that she’s had to pull out. It’s never easy to go like that. I was just super proud of the way that I fought and pushed through.”
The American world No.34 will face Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the round of 16. Li is 2-0 head-to-head against Fernandez, with wins against her in Madrid last year and Doha earlier this year.
“I know it’s going to be a tough battle. She’s a super fighter and a great player, so I’m just going to try to recover and do my best here. I love playing on these courts, so yeah, hopefully I can just keep it going,” Li added.
Saturday’s result was just Li’s second victory against a top-10 opponent.
The Atlanta-based player hit a career-high ranking of 33 at the end of last season after reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time at the US Open and winning a second career WTA title in Guangzhou.
“I see myself improving in certain things, and it’s always good, obviously, to get farther and farther in these big tournaments,” said Li.
“That was kind of one of my goals this year, is to do well in the bigger tournaments, the 1000s and the Slams. So yeah, hopefully I can just keep trying to accomplish those.”
Earlier in the day, Fernandez, the No.24 seed, booked her last-16 spot with a battling 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over 15th-seeded Iva Jovic.