Swiatek makes personal history in epic comeback win

For Iga Swiatek, being at her worst brought out her best.

After dropping the first set to Donna Vekic and falling behind 5-2 in the second, Swiatek mounted an epic comeback, winning every point in a tiebreaker for the first time in her career en route to a 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2 victory in a 2-hour, 38-minute battle in the Round of 32 at the China Open on Monday. 

“I was just really pissed,” Swiatek, the six-time Grand Slam winner and 2023 China Open champion said of her early effort. “Made some mistakes, and I just really wanted to change something because clearly, it wasn’t working.”

Swiatek's frustrations boiled over into, ironically, a sense of calm. When she found herself down 6-4, 5-2 with a double-break, the No. 8 seed felt resigned to her fate. 

"For sure there's at some point - not every time - a little bit of the feeling you have nothing to lose anymore because you're in such a bad position that probably you're going to lose this match anyway," Swiatek explained. 

"I don't know, let's try something else. I don't know, let's just play whatever, with your eyes closed, just hit the ball as fast as possible, I don't know, with as much spin as possible. It depends on the match. Sometimes it works.

"Sometimes if you care a bit less because you're in that position that you're probably going to lose, it also helps you a bit. 

"The sport can be weird sometimes.”

The shift came in Game 5 of the second set. Down 5-2 and four points from a third-round exit, Swiatek ripped a forehand into the corner to open the game, then broke Vekic at love. She won three straight games from there, snuffing out Vekic's two chances to serve out the win. 

“I was in a bad position score-wise,” Swiatek said. “Later on in the second set, I was playing more brave and more aggressive, changing more down the line.

“At the end, I think it’s what changed the rhythm of the match.”

Swiatek carried that momentum into the tiebreaker, winning all seven points while keeping her focus on the one directly in front of her. 

“I wasn’t thinking about the third set,” Swiatek said of the tiebreak. “Just thinking about the next point.

“I’m happy I didn’t overanalyze, and I just hit the ball good.”

That elevation continued in the decisive set. She broke Vekic three times before taking the final game at love to complete the comeback.

Swiatek will play No. 10 seed Iva Jovic in Wednesday’s Round of 16.

By Isabel Kirkwood