Iga Swiatek breezes into second straight Madrid Open final

World number one Iga Swiatek continued her dominant run at the Madrid Open, securing a spot in the final with a convincing victory over Madison Keys. Swiatek, who has already won two WTA 1,000 titles this season, showed her class as she dispatched the American 6-1, 6-3 in just 70 minutes.

The Polish star, who finished as the runner-up in Madrid last year, is now eyeing her third title of 2024. She will face Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka in a rematch of the 2023 final if Sabalenka can overcome Elena Rybakina in the other semi-final.

Swiatek’s clay-court prowess was on full display as she took control of the match from the start, racing to a 3-0 lead in the opening set. Despite a brief fightback from Keys, Swiatek remained composed and broke her opponent’s serve at crucial moments to seal the victory.

Keys, a former US Open finalist, struggled to find her rhythm and was unable to capitalize on the few opportunities that came her way. With 28 unforced errors compared to Swiatek’s eight, Keys was unable to mount a serious challenge against the world number one.

In the men’s draw, Daniil Medvedev’s quarter-final match came to an abrupt end as the Russian third seed retired early due to an injury to his right leg. Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic took advantage of Medvedev’s injury woes to claim the first set 6-4 and advance to the semi-finals.

With Medvedev’s withdrawal, world number 31 Lehecka will now face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals. The Italian Open, the next ATP Masters 1,000 tournament, will see Medvedev defend his title starting on 8 May.