World number one tennis player and defending Stuttgart Open champion Iga Swiatek advanced to the quarter-finals following winning in straight sets over Elise Mertens, Thursday (18/4).
The victory over Mertens was Swiatek’s ninth win in nine matches in the warm-up tournament ahead of the French Open.
Swiatek beat the unseeded Belgian 6-3, 6-4 to maintain her chances of a third straight title at the tournament in Germany and win a third luxury car following winning the same tournament in 2022 and 2023.
“There is always a place for a Porsche. If there isn’t one, I will build an underground garage,” said Swiatek following playing her first match on clay following winning the French Open last June.
The Pole went 5-1 up in the first set before dropping two games but came back to end the set.
Swiatek’s serve was broken early in the second set but she managed to recover and end the match with the fourth match point.
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“This is not an easy tournament. All the players are motivated to win the car,” said Swiatek.
In the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open, Swiatek will face former United States (US) Open champion Emma Raducanu.
Raducanu advanced to the pre-quarter finals of the Stuttgart Open following beating teenager Czech Rep. Linda Noskova 6-0, 7-5.
This was Raducanu’s first appearance in the quarter-finals of a WTA tournament in 19 months. (AFP/Z-1)
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