World No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek achieved a significant milestone by reaching the last 16 of a WTA 1000 event for the 25th consecutive time, defeating No. 27 seed Elise Mertens 7-6(2), 6-1 in the third round of the Miami Open.
Miami: Scores | Draws | Order of play
The Polish player has consistently reached the last 16 at this level since Cincinnati 2021. The second-longest streak of consecutive last-16 appearances in WTA 1000 tournaments is 18, held by Maria Sharapova from Indian Wells 2011 to Rome 2013.
Similar to her previous match against Caroline Garcia, Swiatek faced challenges. After leading 5-2 in the first set, Mertens, the recent Singapore champion, leveled the score to 5-5. However, Swiatek regained control, dominated the tiebreak, and comfortably won the second set.
Swiatek mentioned that her serve was problematic in the first set, winning only 43% of her second serve points. This allowed Mertens to attack and hit accurate winners. In the second set, Swiatek improved her first-serve percentage to 79%, resolving the issue.
`In the first set, my serve wasn`t working perfectly,` Swiatek commented in her on-court interview. `I`m glad I remained patient and worked through it, and I felt much better in the second set.`
Swiatek will compete for a spot in the Miami quarterfinal against No. 22 seed Elina Svitolina, who defeated No. 15 seed Karolina Muchova. Swiatek holds a 2-1 head-to-head advantage over Svitolina, including a win in their only hard-court match in Dubai last year.
Jasper Hawthorne 
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