Those who decided to stay up late on Monday night to watch Iga Świątek compete in the US Open were certainly not disappointed. The Polish representative displayed her class in the Round of 16 match against Ludmilla Samsonova. The Russian offered resistance only in the first set, but couldn’t even win a single set as Świątek broke her at the crucial moment.
Iga "The Russian Slayer" Świątek
From that point on, there was only one star left on the "stage". A star who, for the second time in her career, has reached the US Open quarterfinals, and when she did so previously in 2022, she went on to win the entire tournament. Of course, there is still a long way to go, but with her increasingly strong and dynamic play, Świątek is capable of anything. This includes frustrating the Russians, who were not too pleased after Świątek’s match against Samsonova.
The liveresult.ru portal highlighted that in New York, the Pole has become a nightmare for Russian tennis players, a new - yet entirely fitting - nickname for the player from Raszyn.
It took Iga Świątek almost exactly 1.5 hours to eliminate Ludmilla Samsonova and advance to the quarterfinals. Let’s remember that Świątek had already knocked out two other Russians, Kamilla Rakhimova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, from the US Open
- they wrote. The sports.kz website noted that the decisive moments in the match were key, where Świątek was far superior to Samsonova. "Iga Świątek took advantage of three out of the eight breakpoints she earned. Samsonova wasn’t even able to create such an opportunity" - sports.kz reported.
Maria Sharapova left behind. Iga Świątek surpasses her.
Meanwhile, the tennis-focused portal championnat.com emphasized how many mistakes and poor decisions Świątek forced Samsonova into. They also praised Świątek’s excellent service game.
The second set, in particular, was completely unsuccessful for Samsonova. She made too many errors, was very nervous, and played ineffectively along the sidelines. She couldn’t turn those rallies in her favor. Świątek impressed with her first serve, which was much more effective
- the Russians assessed.
Championnat.com also pointed out a statistic that was also shared by OptaAce on the platform X. It turns out that Świątek has surpassed the legendary Maria Sharapova in one specific area.
Świątek has surpassed Sharapova's Grand Slam achievement. The victory over Samsonova was her 83rd win in her first 100 matches at major tournaments. Sharapova achieved 82 victories in her first 100 Grand Slam matches
- they noted.
