Iga Swiatek came from 6-4, 5-2 down to beat Donna Vekic 4-6, 7-6(0), 6-2 in the China Open third round in Beijing, extending her head-to-head lead to 5-0. She now faces American Iva Jovic, who beat Kamilla Rakhimova, in the last 16.
Beijing, China: Iga Swiatek had one foot out of the China Open on Monday morning. Donna Vekic was a set up, a break clear in the second and cruising on the biggest stage of her season. Then the Pole found a way back, and once she did, the match did not stay close for long.
The Beijing third round turned on a handful of games and a tiebreak that Vekic will not want to see again.
Vekic takes the opener
Vekic made the better start, winning the first set 6-4 and carrying that momentum into the second. She moved ahead 5-2 and Swiatek, the former champion in Beijing, was suddenly a few games from an early exit. Vekic’s serve let her down in the end, though: she finished with five double faults to Swiatek’s one.
The serve statistics tell the story of the match as a whole. Swiatek won 71 per cent of the points behind her first serve compared with Vekic’s 46 per cent, a gap that grew harder to ignore as the match went on.
The tiebreak that vanished
From 5-2 down, Swiatek began to break back and extend the rallies. She forced the set into a tiebreak and then played one of the cleanest ones imaginable. She won it 7-0, giving Vekic not a single point.
It was a stunning swing. Swiatek converted five of her 12 break points over the match, while Vekic converted four of her five, a reminder of how close the contest had been before the second set tilted.
Swiatek pulls clear
The decider belonged to Swiatek from the start. Early breaks gave her control and she kept it, closing out the set 6-2. She won 97 of the 185 points played.
The result extends her record against Vekic to 5-0. The pair’s previous meetings came at the 2020 Australian Open, in Doha in 2020, the 2022 San Diego final and Rome in 2023.
Jovic is next
Swiatek, the eighth seed, moves into the round of 16 where she will meet Iva Jovic. The American, seeded tenth, beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 7-5, converting five of 10 break points in one hour and 54 minutes. It will be the first meeting between the two on the main tour, and it is scheduled for Tuesday.
Swiatek will have to find a quicker start against a player who has just won in straight sets.
Score: Iga Swiatek (POL) bt Donna Vekic (CRO) 4-6, 7-6(0), 6-2 — China Open, Beijing, third round
Next: Fourth round v Iva Jovic (USA), Tuesday
