Iga Swiatek learned how everyone else feels after being served a ‘bagel’ set by Madison Keys at the Madrid Open, before coming back to win 0-6 6-3 6-2 and reach the semi-finals.
Swiatek’s tendency to win one-sided sets, especially on her preferred surface of clay, has led to memes that refer to ‘Iga’s Bakery’ - with the four-time French Open champion routinely winning sets without dropping a game over the past couple of years.
But the script was flipped during her Madrid Open quarter-final against Australian Open champion Keys on Wednesday, with the American breaking Swiatek three times as she took a 6-0 lead.
An out-of-sorts Swiatek went off the court but returned to steady her game and mount a comeback, with the Polish player able to laugh about being on the other end of a one-sided scoreline afterwards.
“Well.. not good,” Swiatek said when asked about being ‘bagelled’ during her on-court interview. “At least it’s fast you know. That’s the only positive thing. But staying on a court and having 0-6... it’s weird.”
According to Opta, Swiatek won a bagel set in almost 30 per cent of her matches in 2023 - which was significantly higher than the rest of the WTA. But against Keys, she dropped a set 0-6 for the first time since 2021.
Swiatek also became only the second player in 40 years to recover from a 0-6 set against a top-five opponent, according to Opta, joining Steffi Graf.
“Honestly, it was one of the weirdest matches I’ve ever played,” Swiatek said. “I didn’t feel like [the first set] was that bad. I felt the ball well – it just went super long.
“I tried to play a bit shorter and with some mistakes by Maddy, the momentum changed in the end. I’m happy that I did it.”
Swiatek will face Coco Gauff in the last four after the fourth seed beat Mirra Andreeva 7-5 6-1, with a rematch of last year’s final against World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka still a possibility.
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