MIAMI — In the first major upset of the Miami Open, World No. 50 Magda Linette came from a set down to knock off former champion and No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Thursday night.
It was the second straight three-set win for Linette, who came from a set down in her first-round match against Varvara Gracheva.
Swiatek had won 73 consecutive opening-round matches on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, dating back to the 2021 WTA Finals.
Swiatek dominated the first set, breaking her countrywoman twice and winning 88 percent of her first-serve points. But Linette got the critical break in the second set and held thereafter, helped by four aces. She then jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the third, but Swiatek saved two match points and held for 5-3. In the ninth game of the set, Linette closed out the massive win on her fourth match point.
“I stopped doing anything well tactically,” Swiatek said of her form after the strong first set. “…It just was a bad match for me in the second and third sets. Unconsciously, or consciously, it’s hard for me to say. I need to work to get back from that, because I haven’t felt things like that for like five years.
“I’ll just get back to work and try to get something positive out of the practices … and try to figure it out.”
Linette overcame 30 unforced errors to become just the second player to beat Swiatek at a WTA 1000 tournament after dropping the first set. (Maria Sakkari also did it earlier this season, in Doha.)
Next up for Linette will be Alexandra Eala, who overcame Laura Siegemund in three tough sets earlier in the day in Hard Rock Stadium. Linette has won two of her three matches against Eala, though Eala won their most recent matchup in Auckland.