Iga Swiatek is through to the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals after defeating Sorana Cirstea.
The Polish star has put a shock loss to Clara Tauson at the Canadian Open behind her, returning to form on the American hard courts.
Swiatek defeated Cirstea 6-4 6-3 on Wednesday, setting up a quarter-final against Washington Open finalist Anna Kalinskaya.
The 24-year-old will be hoping to continue her good form against the Russian and enhance her preparation for the upcoming US Open.
With victory over Cirstea, Swiatek has rivalled fellow tennis greats Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka.
Iga Swiatek’s new territory
Iga Swiatek’s victory over Sorana Cirstea placed her in the same conversation as Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka.
As per OptaAce, Iga Swiatek has registered her 80th win in WTA-1000 hard-court events from 102 matches, only Serena Williams and Azarenka have registered 80 wins from fewer such matches since the format introduction in 2009.
Williams achieved the feat in 91 WTA-1000 matches, while Azarenka accomplished the total in 98 matches.
These sorts of conversations are becoming almost commonplace when discussing Iga Swiatek, such is the consistent nature of her high level.
The Polish 24-year-old already has six Grand Slam singles titles to her name, four more than Victoria Azarenka achieved during her career.
However, Swiatek will have to win 17 more Grand Slam singles tournaments to match the great Serena Williams, who won 23 during her career.
Iga Swiatek speaks about planning her goals
While speaking on-court after defeating Cirstea on Wednesday, Swiatek was asked about her goals at the start of the season.
The Polish star replied: “Honestly it’s not like the season starts and it’s a totally different story. The off-season is literally like 4 weeks. I have some goals for sure.
“But if we play for 11 months, you don’t know what’s going to happen in a few months, so I try to only look at the first part of the year and then switch to the second… split it up.
“Because if I’m going to think in a broader horizon, think about the next 11 months, I’d be already tired after one week.
“I’m really just looking at the next tournament and that always helps me.”
