Miami Open: Iga Swiatek 'disappointed' as quest for Sunshine Double over after defeat to Ekaterina Alexandrova

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 26/03/2024 at 08:28 GMT

It was a day to remember for Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Miami Open on Monday as she defeated world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in a huge result in Florida. Swiatek had been in hot pursuit of securing the Sunshine Double after her impressive triumph at Indian Wells, but she was not able to match Alexandrova's level in the evening clash as she surprisingly crashed out of the tournament.

Iga Swiatek saw her pursuit of a second career Sunshine Double come to an abrupt end after she suffered an upset defeat to Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Miami Open.

Alexandrova pulled off a memorable result courtesy of an inspired performance as she out-battled the Pole to come through in straight sets, 6-4 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals in Florida.

Swiatek hit just eight winners with 16 unforced errors in a display that she will want to quickly forget about, but the evening belonged to Alexandrova, who is now into the last eight of a WTA 1000 tournament for the third time in her career.

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"We played quite a few times before and sometimes it was three sets," Alexandrova said. "I think sometimes I was quite close to it but still far away.

"Winning against her, of course it feels great. I'm not sure if it's a surprise or not, but I just worked quite hard on the court, and it paid off."

Asked what particularly worked for her in the surprise victory, she added: "Just trying to go more inside the court, trying to hit everything in front of you so the opponent doesn't have as much time.

"I think when it goes in its very good but sometimes it's not working. But today, it worked.

"Second quarter-final here, second year in a row. Beating Iga after so many tries and she's No.1, it's the first time I beat a No.1. All three things are very special to me."

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Alexandrova has also defeated Donna Vekic and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in her run to the quarter-finals, and she will next face American Jessica Pegula, who overcame Emma Navarro in straight sets, 7-6(1) 6-3.

As for Swiatek, she was left to reflect on a hugely frustrating evening, but with her usual perspective.

"Disappointed, for sure, because I thought I was going to play better here in Miami," Swiatek said.

Ekaterina Alexandrova and Iga Swiatek of Poland shake hands at the net after the fourth round on Day 10 of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium

Image credit: Getty Images

"She played an amazing match and for sure, she was the better player out there today.

"Her serve, I had a hard time reading it. I got a little bit tense when I couldn't return well."

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