Swiatek left floundering by Brazilian

TORONTO • For nearly five months, Iga Swiatek was untouchable. Until her third-round loss at Wimbledon, the world No. 1 had been on a 37-match unbeaten run.

The Pole still remains a formidable opponent, with 39 victories from her past 41 matches, but the unwavering confidence she had during her winning streak has been dimmed slightly.

The two-time French Open champion was stunned by Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 at the Canadian Open on Thursday, in a blow to her preparations for the US Open which starts on Aug 29.

This was the world No. 24's first crack at Swiatek but the underdog was not overawed. She leaned on her powerful serves and groundstrokes to close out the opening set without facing a break point.

Swiatek fended off five break points to hold serve in a 15-minute opening game of the second set before going on to force a decider.

But Haddad Maia's power game saw her break her opponent three times in the third set en route to a famous victory.

Swiatek's second serve was one of her vulnerabilities as she typically hit a readable kick serve which Haddad Maia capitalised on.

At the US Open, others will also be seeking to exploit the weak spot but Swiatek hoped to tighten her game at the Cincinnati event starting on Monday.

"I struggled to find my rhythm on the court," she said. "Probably because she's (Haddad Maia) a lefty and I had a hard time adjusting to her serve.

"Plus the wind. I think without the wind I would manage. But it was pretty crazy out there. I know what I want to work on, and what I want to improve before the next tournament, for sure."

On whether she can get to grips with the wind, which is set to be a factor both in Cincinnati and in New York, Swiatek added: "I don't know yet but I will find out."

Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev expects to be back from his long-term injury to play for Germany in the Davis Cup next month but said on Thursday there was a chance of returning earlier at Flushing Meadows.

The Tokyo Games gold medallist underwent surgery to repair ankle ligament damage suffered at the French Open in June.

The US Open will be tight for Zverev, who reached the 2020 final, but the world No. 2 is not ruling out his participation.

"Of course, I will still try to make the US Open, although it will be very, very close," he said. "Every day, it really gets better. That's why I don't want to say that I'm not playing the US Open yet."

REUTERS

---

CANADIAN OPEN