Looking for How to Stop Swiatek

Madison Keys was among the top players in the WTA Madrid semifinals. He has to find a way to beat Iga Swiatek.

AFP/THOMAS COEX

Madison Keys returned the ball towards Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 Madrid at Caja Magica Madrid on April 30, 2024. Keys will face Iga Swiatek in the semifinals after defeating Jabeur on Thursday (5/2/2024).

MADRID, WEDNESDAY — The aggressive game and characteristic clay court of La Caja Magica Madrid, Spain, was quickly considered the right combination for Madison Keys< /a>. However, since her debut in 2013, this is the first time Keys has reached the semifinals and she has to find a way to stop Iga Swiatek's run.

Keys' meeting with the world's number one women's singles player will take place on Thursday (2/5/2024) afternoon local time or evening in Indonesia. Keys will experience this level of competition in Madrid for the first time after only making it to the third round as her best result.

This semifinal was also only the sixth semifinal at the WTA 1000 level. The 29 year old tennis player who has been playing professional tennis since 2009 has only won one title from the WTA 1000 tournament, namely from Cincinnati 2019 .

During the WTA 1000 tournament on clay courts, the best result of the finalist of the US Open 2017 Grand Slam was when she appeared in the WTA Rome 2016 final, facing Serena Williams.

Also read: "Swiatek Storm" in Madrid

Clay courts, which are generally slow in character, are not very suitable for Keys who has an aggressive playing style. This is also something she realizes every time she plays at WTA Madrid, even though many people say that the tournament is suitable for her.

However, what she felt this year is different from previous years. She feels comfortable competing in the WTA Madrid which is actually held on a slightly faster court than other clay courts. This is due to the thinner air layer at La Caja Magica, as Madrid is located at an altitude of 646 meters above sea level, higher than Rome (21 m above sea level) and Paris (35 m above sea level) which also hold clay court tournaments.

AFP/THOMAS COEX

Madison Keys hits the ball against Ons Jabeur in the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 Madrid, April 30, 2024.

Keys said that the difference between her now and years before is the factor of maturity. She doesn't demand too much from herself to win, but rather enjoys every opportunity. "With that kind of approach, I can actually go further," said Keys on the official WTA website.

On the field, that mindset resulted in a victory despite facing a tough match. Keys defeated fellow American tennis player ranked third in the world, Cori Gauff, in the fourth round. In the quarterfinals, she bounced back after not being given the opportunity by Ons Jabeur to win a single game in the first set. Keys defeated Jabeur with a score of 0-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Also read: Swiatek Returns to Her Comfort Zone

After suffering a shoulder injury, Keys changed her way of playing so she didn't always rely on hard shots from the baseline. He varies his shots more.

The test for adaptation will be against Swiatek, a strong tennis player on clay courts. Swiatek is a three-time French Open champion and two-time WTA Rome champion. She has the motivation to win the WTA Madrid title for the first time after losing to Aryna Sabalenka in the 2023 final.

For this reason, Keys will position herself as the underdog even though she beat Swiatek in the last meeting at WTA Cincinnati 2022. Swiatek was also in that position when she made her debut in Madrid in 2021 and she only lasted until the third round. .

AP PHOTO/PAUL WHITE

Iga Swiatek serves against Beatriz Haddad Maia in the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 Madrid, 30 April 2024.

Now, as the favorite to win, she must adapt to other people's expectations and it is not easy. Swiatek once felt pressured by her status as the world's number one tennis player and asked Roger Federer for advice on how to handle it.

If Swiatek advances to the final again, she will meet one of her tough rivals, namely Sabalenka or Elena Rybakina who are competing in the other semifinal. Sabalenka beat her in the 2023 WTA Madrid final, while Rybakina beat Swiatek in the WTA 500 Stuttgart final two weeks ago.

Rybakina secured a spot in the semifinals after defeating fellow Kazakh tennis player, Yulia Putintseva, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5. Rybakina, who has won three championship titles in 2024, had to play for two hours and 48 minutes to win the quarterfinals on early Thursday morning Indonesia time.

Meanwhile, Sabalenka won for the first time in two sets after always playing three sets in the previous three rounds. She defeated 17-year-old tennis player, Mirra Andreeva, 6-1, 6-4.

The track record of Rybakina and Sabalenka's meetings should make the competition in Madrid intense. Sabalenka led 5-3, but suffered a crushing defeat of 0-6, 3-6 in their last meeting, which took place at the ATP Brisbane final. The upcoming meeting between Rybakina and Sabalenka will be their first competition on clay courts.

AFP/PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU

Elena Rybakina faced Yulia Putintseva in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 Madrid on May 1, 2024. Rybakina will face Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals.

Sinner and Alcaraz failed

In the men's singles competition at the same venue, the top two seeds "disappeared" in the same round, namely the quarter-finals. Top seed, Jannik Sinner, canceled his match against Felix Auger-Aliassime due to a right hip injury.

"I have been experiencing pain in my hip for this past week and it is getting worse. I have to follow my doctor's advice to not continue the match so that my injury does not worsen," said Sinner through his social media account.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz did not achieve a winning hat-trick at the Madrid Masters because he lost to Andrey Rublev 6-4, 3-6, 2-6. The home crowd also lost their champion again after the previous day, Rafael Nadal, lost in the fourth round.

The result responded to Alcaraz's victory over Rublev in the group stage of the 2023 ATP Finals tournament. In the semifinals, Rublev will face Taylor Fritz who won against Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Alcaraz said that during the match, his focus was still often distracted by the injury to his right arm which made him absent from the Monte Carlo Masters and ATP 500 Barcelona. (AP/AFP)