Dubai Tennis Championships: Iga Swiatek downs Liudmila Samsonova to advance into quarter-finals

By ANI

DUBAI [UAE]: World No 1 Iga Swiatek advanced into the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday, overpowering No.14 seed Liudmila Samsonova 6-1, 6-0 in their Round of 16 showdown.

Swiatek won her last five matches, including a title defence last week in Doha. However, this will be Swiatek’s first appearance in the Dubai quarterfinals; she lost in the second round to eventual champion Jelena Ostapenko last year.

Swiatek had a much easier time this time, dropping only one game en route to the 76-minute victory. Swiatek won the match with 18 winners to only six unforced errors and never faced a break point. Swiatek improves to 35-0 in WTA 1000 events after taking the first set.

Swiatek hung with Samsonova in a number of long games, but the top seed won almost all of them, gritting out a tough hold for 2-1, then breaking for 3-1 after Samsonova held game point.

Swiatek erased a Samsonova game point for the fifth time to make it 5-1. Swiatek converted her first set point with a backhand winner in the following game. Swiatek took control for good in the second set, breaking for 3-0 and converting her sixth break point of the game. Swiatek won the game by winning the previous 11 games in a row.

Swiatek will now take on former Dubai finalist Karolina Pliskova in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Swiatek has won her only previous meeting against former World No.1 Pliskova — a 6-0, 6-0 rout in the 2021 Rome final. 

<br /> DUBAI [UAE]: World No 1 Iga Swiatek advanced into the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday, overpowering No.14 seed Liudmila Samsonova 6-1, 6-0 in their Round of 16 showdown.</p> <p>Swiatek won her last five matches, including a title defence last week in Doha. However, this will be Swiatek’s first appearance in the Dubai quarterfinals; she lost in the second round to eventual champion Jelena Ostapenko last year.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Swiatek had a much easier time this time, dropping only one game en route to the 76-minute victory. Swiatek won the match with 18 winners to only six unforced errors and never faced a break point. Swiatek improves to 35-0 in WTA 1000 events after taking the first set.</p> <p>Swiatek hung with Samsonova in a number of long games, but the top seed won almost all of them, gritting out a tough hold for 2-1, then breaking for 3-1 after Samsonova held game point.</p> <p>Swiatek erased a Samsonova game point for the fifth time to make it 5-1. Swiatek converted her first set point with a backhand winner in the following game. Swiatek took control for good in the second set, breaking for 3-0 and converting her sixth break point of the game. Swiatek won the game by winning the previous 11 games in a row.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Swiatek will now take on former Dubai finalist Karolina Pliskova in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Swiatek has won her only previous meeting against former World No.1 Pliskova — a 6-0, 6-0 rout in the 2021 Rome final. <br />