Iga Swiatek Overcomes Bagel to Beat Madison Keys in Madrid

Iga Swiatek is known for her dominance on clay courts, but Wednesday's quarterfinal match against Madison Keys at the Madrid Open got off to an inauspicious start for the Queen of Clay.

Keys handed Swiatek her first bagel on a clay court since 2019. It has only happened to Swiatek twice during her time on the WTA Tour, both times at her first-ever French Open appearance.

Off to a flyer in Madrid 🤩@Madison_Keys with a 6-0 first set over the defending champ!#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/XntwWtqKJj
— wta (@WTA) April 30, 2025

Despite suffering a disastrous start, Swiatek completed the comeback to defeat Keys in three sets: 0-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Throughout the one-hour and 46-minute battle, Swiatek slowly turned the match in her favor. Unsurprisingly, Keys served at a higher level. But Swiatek managed to limit her unforced errors (25 to Keys' 35).

Cannot predict this one! 🍿@iga_swiatek strikes back with a 6-3 second set to level things up!#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/h5wABhTnLE
— wta (@WTA) April 30, 2025

When asked after the match how it felt to receive a bagel in the first set, Swiatek said with a laugh, "Well, not good. At least it's fast, you know. That's the only positive thing, you know. But staying on a court and having 0-6 is just weird."

With today's victory, Swiatek improves to 26-7 on the season and advances to her third consecutive semifinal appearance in Madrid.

you can NEVER count her out 🤯

defending champion @iga_swiatek fights back to defeat Keys 0-6, 6-3, 6-2!#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/0wGBekTtdQ
— wta (@WTA) April 30, 2025

Swiatek will face the winner of Coco Gauff and Mirra Andeeva on Thursday, May 1. The WTA World No. 2 has not won a title in almost a year, since the 2025 French Open.

Swiatek explained how she adjusted her strategy after hitting the ball long in the first set, "I just tried to play a bit shorter and put it in. I don't know; I think I let Maddy do a little bit more mistakes by just putting the ball back. Then the momentum changed, but I'm not sure why."

Iga Swiatek talks tricky victory over Madison Keys 🎤#MMOpen pic.twitter.com/AmZLa58t6O
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) April 30, 2025

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