Iga Swiatek had won all four of her previous meetings with Donna Vekic, dropping just one set. But in their China Open third-round match Monday in Beijing, No. 30 seed Vekic appeared poised to end that run after taking a 6-4, 5-2 lead.
Swiatek, the 2023 champion, refused to let the match slip away. She broke Vekic twice to level the second set at 5-5, then won the tiebreak without losing a point to force a decider.
After the players exchanged breaks to open the third set, Swiatek broke again for a 3-2 lead and closed out a 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2 victory in 2 hours, 40 minutes.
“For sure I was in a bad position score-wise, didn’t really know after the first set what to change to play better,” Swiatek told the media after the win. “Later on in the second set I was playing more brave and more aggressive, changing more down the line. At the end I think it’s what changed the rhythm of the match.
“I don’t know how many points we both had, but I felt like I’m playing good. I felt like we might be even, but maybe she was winning the more important points. I knew I had my opportunities; I should push a little bit more. I just needed to go level up because she played really good, used these chances that I didn’t use in the first set.”
Comeback complete ✅ Iga Swiatek storms back to defeat Vekic in a three-set thriller! #ChinaOpen https://t.co/l7wTbYuaWF
— wta (@WTA) October 5, 2026
For Vekic, the loss marked her third defeat to a top-10 player in 2026, having previously lost to Mirra Andreeva at the Australian Open and Jessica Pegula at Indian Wells.
Swiatek is through to the round of 16 at a WTA 1000 event for the 40th time in her career and will be bidding to win her 13th title at this level.
It was also Swiatek’s 147th win at WTA 1000 events. Only Serena Williams, with 148, and Aryna Sabalenka, with 156, have more.
She moves on to face No. 10 seed Iva Jovic next. The American defeated Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 7-5 in another third-round battle on Monday.
