Iga Swiatek beats Elise Mertens, sets to face Emma Raducanu in Stuttgart quarterfinals

Tennis legend Iga Swiatek defeated Elise Mertens 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Porshe Grand Prix of the Stuttgart Open 2024 on Thursday, April 18, 2024. Notably, the star player is set to face Emma Raducana in the quarterfinals. Raducana went to beat Linda Noskova 6-0, 7-5.

Meanwhile, Elena Rybakina also battled herself into the quarters with an emphatic win over Veronika Kudermetova. Notably, she went on to save herself by three break points towards the end of the opening set and then took control of the tiebreaker. However, her errors mounted in the second set as Veronika went on to dominate, but she marked her comeback in the next set to get the tremendous win.

Notably, world number one and defending champion Iga Swiatek continued her clay-court camping, and she just needed one hour and 33 minutes to hold off 30-ranked Mertens, which allowed her to place herself in the quarterfinals. Iga's wonderful and magnificent groundstrokes drove her to a great 5-1 lead in the first set, but she was optimistic about winning.

I know I can always serve it out in tough moments: Iga Swiatek

"There's always space for a Porsche. If not, we'll make it. I'll build an underground garage. This is not an easy tournament. Everyone is really motivated to win that car. I know I have my weapon, my serve. I know I can always serve it out in tough moments. Not always, but this is a strength," said  Swiatek after playing her first clay-court match since lifting the French Open title last June.

Adding other second-round results:

• Qinwen Zheng vs. Marta Kostyuk
• Emma Raducanu vs. Linda Noskova
• Jasmine Paolini beat Ons Jabeur (7): 7-6 (8), 6-4
• Marketa Vondrousova (6) beat Anastasia Potapova: 7-6 (5), 6-1
• Elena Rybakina (4) beat Veronika Kudermetova: 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-4
• Aryna Sabalenka (2) beat Paula Badosa: 7-6 (4), 4-6, 3-3 ret.
• Coco Gauff (3) beat Sachia Vickery (Q): 6-3, 4-6, 7-5