World number 1 Iga Swiatek has reached her eleventh quarter final this year at the Agel Open in Ostrava after Ajla Tomljanovic was forced to withdraw from the match due to a left knee injury, when she was trailing 7-5 2-2.
Swiatek raced out to a 4-1 lead with a break in the second game and came two points from a 5-1 lead, but Tomljanovic held serve.
Tomljanovic broke back in the seventh game to draw level to 4-4 and held two break points, but she was not able to convert them. Swiatek converted her second set point, as Tomljanovic netted a volley.
All four games of the second set went to deuce. Tomljanovic earned an early break in the first game of the second set. Swiatek broke straight back in the second game after a six-deuce game. Tomljanovic started to clutch saved a break point to hold serve at deuce before retiring from the match.
“We played in Toronto and I saw in the US Open how well Ajla played. It seems she is really on a roll and she is playing better and better. It was a great match and it’s unfortunate that something happened. I hope she is going to recover quickly”, said Swiatek.
