Qinwen Zheng ready to “fight” Iga Swiatek in their quarter-finals tie in Indian Wells

Qinwen Zheng is set to face Iga Swiatek for the eighth time, this time in Indian Wells, with the latter holding a 6-1 head-to-head record.

Qinwen Zheng ready to “fight” Iga Swiatek in their quarter-finals tie in Indian Wells

Qinwen Zheng, Iga Swiatek (Image via X)

Qinwen Zheng had won just one match this year before arriving at Indian Wells. The Chinese star has somehow found her form in the California desert and has now won three consecutive matches. She will now face Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals, a rematch of the Paris Olympics semifinals last year.

Swiatek will never forget Zheng anytime soon. The Chinese star ended her winning streak on clay at the Paris Olympics, and that also kickstarted Swiatek’s title drought, which is still active after nine months. Zheng defeated Swiatek 6-2, 7-5, and went on to win the women’s singles gold medal at the Olympics.

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Swiatek is the defending champion of Indian Wells. She continued with her form in the California desert and is yet to drop a set. In fact, she has only dropped six match points in her three matches. On Tuesday (March 11), she cruised past Karolina Muchova 6-1, 6-1 in just 57 minutes in the Round of 16.

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On the other hand, Zheng earned a first-round bye and Opened her account against Victoria Azarenka in the second. After beating the former World No.1, she then battled hard to beat Lulu Sun in the third. She faced the 18th seed Marta Kostyuk in the fourth round and beat the Ukrainian 6-3, 6-2.

Zheng’s performance against Kostyuk was her best so far this season. After the win, she was asked during her on-court interview what she thought about her match-up with Swiatek in the quarter-finals. She revealed she would fight and give her best on the court.

We will both give our best. She won like really easy, her first three matches here at Indian Wells. So, she’s in good shape. Same as I. We’re going to fight. And let’s see what happens in the next match.

Qinwen Zheng said via Indian Wells Press

Zheng has faced Swiatek seven times on the court. The former won their first six meetings before the Chinese star snatched her first win at the Paris Olympics. Swiatek will be seeking revenge against the World No.9 in their eighth career meeting.

Iga Swiatek says she was upset with her loss in Dubai and Doha Open

Iga Swiatek has been seeking to regain her World No.1 spot since she lost it to Aryna Sabalenka in September last year. The Polish star was looking forward to closing the gap between her and Sabalenka during the Middle East swing, but that failed to materialize. She reached the semifinals of the Qatar Open and the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (Image via WTA/X)

The World No.2 was asked during her press conference how she felt after missing out of gaining significant points. The 23-year-old said she felt very upset about her results and expected better performances.

Everyone gets upset when they lose. I expected better results in both Doha and Dubai. In tennis, it’s important to leave it behind and focus on the future, and I’ve done that quite well. I don’t expect to win every tournament. After Dubai, we had more time to train. The balls were terrible in Doha and Dubai; they felt like potatoes, so I focused and trained here to feel a bit better.

Iga Swiatek said

Swiatek will hope to defend her Indian Wells title. The Polish star has a lot of points to defend going forward as she’s the defending champion of the Madrid Open, Italian Open, and French Open.