Iga Swiatek into Warsaw Open quarter-finals with win over Claire Liu, Heather Watson also progresses

Iga Swiatek is safely through to the quarter-finals of the Warsaw Open after a straight-sets win over American Claire Liu.

Playing in front of a home crowd in Poland, Swiatek took control with early breaks in the first set before closing it out 6-2, taking her first set point with a vicious double-handed backhand which Liu was unable to return.

Swiatek breezed into a 4-0 lead in the second set, before Liu provided some resistance by holding and then breaking the serve of the world No. 1.

However, Swiatek broke straight back before serving out to take victory.

Britain’s Heather Watson is also through after defeating Belarusian Yuliya Hatouka in three sets.

Watson took the first, before missing two match points at 5-4 up in the second. She went on to lose the second set 5-7 but regained her composure to produce a dominant performance in the third to ensure her progression 6-2 5-7 6-1.

The Brit will take on a familiar face in the quarter-finals, as she will play her doubles partner Yanina Wickmayer.

British No. 2 Jodie Burrage is out of the tournament, though.

She lost eight games in a row on her way to a 6-4 6-1 defeat against Italy’s Lucrezia Stefanini.

At the Hamburg Open, Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus defeated Germany’s Eva Lys 6-2 6-2 in straight sets in their quarter-final in Germany.

The current world No. 62 has had a successful 2023 after winning La Bisbal Open and the Contrexeville Open in the last two months on clay, as well as adding the ITF Anapoima and ITF The Hague events.

Home favourite, Jule Niemeier, lost in straight sets in her quarters match-up against Australia’s Daria Saville.