Iga Swiatek is into the third round of the Italian Open, but she certainly didn’t make it easy for herself.
That is, despite racing into a one-set lead and establishing a double break in the second set.
Having twice served for the match, twice she was broken, with Caty McNally winning the subsequent tiebreaker to send the match into a deciding third.
Iga Swiatek’s experience proved pivotal in these tense moments, with the former world number one eventually emerging victorious.
In doing so, she has actually moved behind only the legendary Chris Evert in an intriguing statistic.
Iga Swiatek closes in on impressive Chris Evert statistic with latest win
As relayed by OptaAce on their X account, they outline how the Polish superstar has continued to reaffirm her supremacy in Rome.
She is a three-time former champion at the event, although she suffred a third-round exit in 2025.
Are you worried about Iga Swiatek’s struggles to get over the line or impressed by her mentality?
A tricky opening match in Rome…
Alas, that clearly did not dent her win rate, as the account states how Swiatek now boasts a better win percentage than Justine Henin at this particular tournament.
In fact, her 88% win rate is only bettered by Evert, who is at 92.3%. The American won the Italian Open five times.
This comes not long after Evert pinpointed the change Francisco Roig had made to Swiatek’s game.
Iga Swiatek needs to find her fear factor on clay again
Once upon a time, Swiatek was the most feared force on the WTA, and not just on clay.
However, on the dirt in particular, she boasted another level of terror that made most opponents feel they were beaten before the match had even begun.
That fear factor is sadly long gone now.
The current-day Swiatek is a far cry from the one that won four Roland Garros titles in five years and was a guarantee for deep runs in the clay-court Masters 1000 events.
However, it would not take much to recapture that reign of terror once again.
Her game fits the dirt uniquely well, and with Roig by her side, there’s no reason why success can’t be just around the corner.
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After all, the Spaniard was a mainstay alongside the greatest clay-court player of all time, with Swiatek having actually practised with Rafael Nadal recently too.
All it would take is another strong run here in Rome to make a statement, sending shivers throughout the WTA Tour right before Roland Garros gets underway.