‘She’s a legend’ – Iga Swiatek beats Petra Kvitova at Miami Open as ‘Sunshine Double’ quest continues

World No. 1-in-waiting Iga Swiatek secured yet another big win as she overcame Petra Kvitova at the Miami Open to continue her quest for the ‘Sunshine Double’.

The Pole, who is currently still officially the world No. 2 as she waits to take over from Ash Barty at the top of the WTA rankings, could not have been more delighted with her 6-3 6-3 victory at Hard Rock Stadium.

Remarkably, the 20-year-old is already now set for her fifth semi-final of what has been an outrageously strong season so far. She will next face 16th seed Jessica Pegula on Friday in the last four.

Swiatek has become the first player since Karolina Pliskova in 2017 to reach the semi-finals of both Indian Wells and the Miami Open as she looks to complete what would be sensational back-to-back triumphs.

In beating one of the players she has most looked up to in her young career, Swiatek was overjoyed to progress, having beaten the “legend” Kvitova.

“I want to use the confidence that I built since the beginning of Doha,” Swiatek said.

“I think I’m on a roll and I want to use that. Having that kind of streak got pretty tricky, but I’m pretty glad that I could play well, that I’m healthy, and that I can compete against players like Petra. She’s a legend.

Tactically, it always felt as though Swiatek had the beating of Kvitova on this occasion, and it was clear from her post-match comments that she had a very strong plan in place for the match.

“From the beginning, I knew that I had to keep up with the pace because she plays really fast,” she added of Kvitova.

“I wanted to stay low on my legs and the first serve was the key. I don’t know if I had many winners, but I wanted to build up positive energy from her mistakes.

“I’m glad that I stayed focused and I did the tactics from A to Z.”

Swiatek, who is eyeing the French Open as the next Grand Slam on the calendar, famously won at Roland-Garros in 2020 for her maiden major.