Disbelief after 23 minutes of tennis…

⁠There were just 23 minutes on the clock when Iga Swiatek approached the umpire’s chair to ask for a bathroom break. A few spectators were entering the court at that point and they could not believe their eyes. In the Mutua Madrid Open quarterfinals and on one of her favourite courts, the Pole had already been on the receiving end of a first-set drubbing in which she only won nine points and no games.

The world number two had not been dealt a bagel on clay since 2019, when she was just 17 years old. Back then it was Simona Halep, a two-time champion in the Spanish capital, incidentally, who beat her 6-0 at the French Open. In fact, Iga has strung together 17 tournaments on clay reaching the quarterfinals, equalling the record of Martina Hingis from 1997 to 2002. She is used to being the hunter, but this time she was very much the hunted. The player who normally mercilessly humiliates, was this time on the receiving end.

“It was one of the strangest matches I’ve played. Nothing was working for me and she was playing especially well. Then I tried to play a bit shorter and Madi made a few errors and the momentum changed. It wasn’t an easy match with the 6-0 against me. Being on court with a 6-0 is strange for me, but at least it was quick”.

Madison the ‘mermaid’, who yesterday revealed that she is named after the main character of the film Splash, had been playing some of the tennis of her life in the Caja Magica. Her semifinal win over Swiatek in the Australian Open will surely have filled her with confidence and at this point of the match she looked unstoppable.

But it is not without good reason that Iga Swiatek is known as the queen of clay. She took her bathroom visit, hit the reset button, and got to work on her comeback. Her body language was completely different. Ultimately, a 6-0 is the same as a 7-6. A set is a set, and Iga, aware that there was plenty of time for a comeback, composed herself. She switched up her tactics, the match changed, and errors began to seep into Keys’ game. It may seem paradoxical, but maintaining your concentration after winning a set 6-0 is not easy either. The Pole was now growing into the match, and her opponent finally dropped a game on her serve for the first time in game four of the second set. Iga saw blood, and suddenly she was the one who looked unstoppable. 6-3, 6-2 in the final two sets gave Swiatek her revenge for the first set and for the defeat a few months ago in Australia.

The comeback has earned Iga a place in the semifinals. It will be her fourth appearance in the round. Despite not being at her brilliant best, Swiatek is in the last four. The Pole will now face the winner of the clash between Mirra Andreeva and Coco Gauff for a place in her third consecutive final in Madrid as the defender of the crown she earned twelve months ago. Not even a 6-0 can stop her.

Gauff, set point saved and into the semis

After the comeback, Iga is already in the semi-finals. His fourth appearance of the season at this stage. Despite not being his most brilliant year, Swiatek does not fail in his appointment with the final rounds. The Polish rock will be looking for a place in her third consecutive final here in Madrid against Coco Gauff and to defend the crown she won twelve months ago. Not even a 6-0 win is going to stop her.

A little later, at the Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario Stadium, Coco Gauff also put on the comeback suit. Andreeva dominated by 5-4 and set point in the first set, but the American rallied to win 7-5, 6-1 in just over an hour and a half.