World No. 3 Iga Swiatek suffered her first loss in 74 WTA tournaments on Thursday when she lost to world No. 50 Magda Linette at the Miami Open, but she opened up about her struggles on court.
Lynette came back from a set down to defeat six-time Grand Slam champion Poland 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 and advance to the third round, where she will face Alexandra Ila.
Filipino star Eara, who defeated Laura Siegemund 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-3 in about three and a half hours, returned as a fan favorite in Miami after making a surprise semifinal appearance at this tournament last year, defeating Swiatek, Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys.
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Highlights of Swiatek vs. Elina Svitolina at Indian Wells
“Tactically nothing went right,” Swiatek said after the match. “The second and third sets were bad matches for me.
“Unconsciously or consciously, it’s hard to say. I have to try to recover from that because I haven’t felt anything like that for about five years.”
“I’m going to go back to work and try to take something positive out of practice and figure it out.”
Swiatek has won 73 straight opening matches on tour since the 2021 WTA Finals, and appeared to be on track to extend that streak after winning 88 percent of his first serve points and breaking his opponent twice in a dominant first set.
Lynette turned the match around, overcoming 30 unforced errors and two wasted match points to win 5-2, ultimately clinching the victory with her fourth match point in the ninth game of the deciding set.
“I think it’s a bit confusing. There’s no other way but to move forward,” Swiatek, 24, said.
“Tennis feels complicated in my head. I know it should be simple. With my mentality and how I feel on the court, it’s going to take a while.”
Compatriot Lynette praised Swiatek, suggesting she set an atmosphere for many players to follow.
“I don’t like to make a fuss about it, but there aren’t that many Polish players, so it would be nice to get a little more attention,” said Lynette, who will next play the role of Alexandra Ila.
“Obviously, Iga sets very high standards for us, which are often unattainable.
“I think it was a great win for me. It means a lot at this stage of my career, but I don’t want to make any comments that would put her down.”
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Highlights of the Miami Open 1st round match between Martin Damm Jr. and Jacob Fearnley
Elsewhere, Britain’s Jacob Fearnley was forced to retire after losing the first set 6-0 in his match against Martin Damm Jr.
Fonseca excited about Alcaraz’s challenge
João Fonseca will next face Carlos Alcaraz
Brazilian rising star Joao Fonseca defeated Fabian Marosan 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 to set up a second round match against world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
It comes a week after the 19-year-old suffered a close loss to Jannik Sinner in two tie-breaks at Indian Wells.
“It’s a great experience for me to play against Alcaraz. And yes, playing against Jannik (Sinner) in the last tournament and now against Carlos, like I said, it’s a great experience for me and a great achievement,” he said.
“It’s just for me as a teenager and second year on tour, and playing against them is always important for my development.
“I wanted to play against them to see how I am, my level, how far I can go, what they do that other players don’t do, how they handle pressure. So it’s important for me to learn those things and I think it’s going to be a great match.”
Alcaraz, who received a bye in the second round, was on an 18-fight winning streak before losing to Daniil Medvedev in Indian Wells.
His winning streak also included a win at the Australian Open, making him the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam at 22 years and 272 days.
“I’m a top-40 player and I’m playing against a top-one player,” Fonseca said. “Of course he is the clear favorite to win. I’m just an underdog, but I have to believe we can win.
“If no, it means I don’t have a chance. I think that’s the mentality. That’s how I need to be on the court tomorrow and get my chance.”
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