Iga Swiatek cruised into her second Madrid Open final on Thursday, maintaining her ominous form by beating Madison Keys 6-1 6-3 within 71 minutes.

Swiatek had been forced to fight back from a set down against Beatriz Haddad Maia in the quarter-finals, but there was no slow start on Thursday as she broke Keys' serve to love at the first attempt.

Only in the fifth game, when Keys failed to convert two break points, was Swiatek troubled in a 31-minute opener, and she carried that momentum into the second set with another early break. 

Having eliminated Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur on a deeply impressive run, Keys had no answer for Swiatek's power as she clinically worked her way through the second set, the American's forehand running long on match point to seal a routine win for the world number one. 

Having lost last year's final against Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek could face a rematch against the defending champion, who takes on Elena Rybakina in Thursday's other semi-final.

Data Debrief: Swiatek surpasses Serena 

Saturday's final will be Swiatek's 11th at WTA 1000-level, the Pole going all the way on 37.9 per cent of her 29 main-draw entries at that level. That is a better ratio than 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams managed in her glittering career, the American doing so at 18 of 49 WTA 1000 tournaments (36.7 per cent). 

Swiatek has now played eight matches in 2024 without dropping a single game on her own serve, a tally only matched by her possible final opponent Sabalenka on the WTA tour. 

Elena Rybakina saved two match points as she outlasted Yulia Putintseva to win a dramatic encounter 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 in the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Wednesday.

The world number four was on the brink of defeat at 5-2 down in the third set, with her fellow Kazakhstani Putintseva eyeing a third win in as many head-to-head meetings between the pair.

However, Rybakina came up with one of the shots of the tournament on Putintseva's first match point, capitalising on a drop shot clipping the net cord to produce a nonchalant winner.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion didn't look back from that moment on, producing back-to-back breaks before holding her nerve through a tense final service game, converting her fourth match point to wrap up a gruelling two-hour, 48-minute contest.

Rybakina has now won 16 successive matches on clay, and she will face either Aryna Sabalenka or Mirra Andreeva in the semi-finals on Thursday.

Data Debrief: Rybakina rampant 

Rybakina is the form player on the WTA circuit, with Wednesday's win her 30th of 2024, more than any other player.

She is just the second player to win 30 or more matches in tournaments starting within the first four months of a calendar year, after Iga Swiatek managed 32 victories during the same span in 2022. Swiatek, of course, went on to win the French Open and US Open titles that season.  

Iga Swiatek continued her march towards back-to-back Madrid Open finals by crushing home favourite Sara Sorribes Tormo in straight sets in the last 16 on Monday.

The world number one – who lost to Aryna Sabalenka in last year's final – made a poor start as Sorribes Tormo surprisingly broke her serve in the opening game, but that only spurred her into action as she dominated from there.

Swiatek broke back immediately and reeled off 12 straight games to advance 6-1 6-0, going one better than her 6-1 6-1 win over Sorana Cirstea in the last 32.

On clay, Swiatek has now won nine of her 55 WTA 1000-level sets by 6-0, with that remarkable rate of 16.4 per cent being the highest of any player to have played 10 or more sets in the format's history (completed matches only).

Swiatek will face Beatriz Haddad Maia in the last eight on Tuesday, with the Brazilian upsetting Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-4 to reach her first quarter-final at the event.

Data Debrief: Swiatek unstoppable on clay?

Swiatek's meeting with Haddad Maia will represent her 14th quarter-final in 18 WTA events played on clay, meaning she has reached that stage on 77.8 per cent of her appearances on the surface.

Since the turn of the century, only two players have a higher rate of quarter-finals reached on clay – Martina Hingis (85.7 per cent, 12/14) and Justine Henin (80.6 per cent, 25/31).

Ons Jabeur cruised into the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Monday, spending just over an hour on court in a statement 6-0 6-4 win over ninth seed Jelena Ostapenko. 

Jabeur, who won her first and so far only WTA 1000 title in Madrid in 2022 then missed last year's tournament through injury, made it nine wins in a row in the Spanish capital to book a last-eight meeting with either Coco Gauff or Madison Keys.

Eighth seed Jabeur only needed 68 minutes to see off the former French Open champion, not dropping a game in a 21-minute opener in which she won 88 per cent of first-serve points.

Ostapenko improved in the second set, breaking back immediately after losing serve in the opening game, but Jabeur got the crucial break to go 5-4 up before serving the contest out.

Data Debrief: Jabeur dominates on the clay

Jabeur's win sealed her third quarter-final appearance at a WTA 1000-level event on clay since 2020. Only world number one Iga Swiatek (four) has reached more during that span.

A dominant start did the trick for the Tunisian on Monday, as she became the first player to take an opening set 6-0 against a top-10 ranked player in Madrid since the 2021 final, when Aryna Sabalenka did so in her victory over Ashleigh Barty.

Iga Swiatek stormed through to the Madrid Open last 16 following a dominant straight-sets victory over Sorana Cirstea.

The world number one dropped just two games as she inflicted a comprehensive 6-1 6-1 rout on her Romanian opponent in the Spanish capital.

Swiatek, who was runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in last year's event, will play Sara Sorribes Tormo in the round of 16 after the Spaniard defeated two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.

The Pole is now 26-4 for the season, in which she has already triumphed at the Qatar Open and Indian Wells Open, as she eyes the ninth WTA 1000 singles title of her career.

Data debrief

Swiatek is through to her sixth round of 16 from seven main-draw appearances in WTA 1000 events on clay (85.7 per cent) - the highest percentage rate among players with at least five such appearances since the format's introduction in 2009.

The three-time French Open champion also boasts the best WTA match win rate of any player since 2000 on clay (87 per cent). Overall, only Chris Evert (94.5 per cent), Margaret Court (89.5 per cent) and Steffi Graf (89.2 per cent) boast a higher percentage in the Open Era.

World number one Iga Swiatek overcame Wang Xiyu with the minimum of fuss on Thursday to progress to the third round of the Madrid Open.

Swiatek has yet to win the title in Madrid, which is the only clay-court European event at which the Pole has not triumphed, but she got off to a flying start with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Xiyu.

"I love this place. I got to know the city a little better last year," Swiatek said. "So this time I feel more comfortable around."

Next up for the 22-year-old is a third-round tie against 27th seed Sorana Cirstea on Saturday.

Data Debrief

Swiatek has registered 150 match wins on the WTA Tour since the start of 2022. Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff are the next best with 108 wins each.

She also became the first player born this century to claim 50 combined match wins in Madrid, Rome and Roland-Garros, since the inaugural women's singles event at the Madrid Open in 2009.

Coco Gauff made a flying start to her Madrid Open campaign on Thursday, recording the first double bagel main-draw win of her career as she cruised past Arantxa Rus to reach the round of 32.

Gauff needed just 51 minutes to see off 33-year-old Rus as she booked a meeting with Ukraine's Dayana Yamstremska for Saturday. 

The US Open champion lost just 18 points throughout the match – eight in the opener and 10 in the second set – as she put any doubts over her recent form to bed in emphatic fashion.

Gauff's power proved too much for Rus in the opener, the third seed winning 88 per cent of points behind her first serve and converting three of four break points to go a set up in just 23 minutes.

Rus brought up four break points midway through the second set, but when she failed to convert them, Gauff punished her in ruthless fashion by reeling off another three games then finishing things with a terrific forehand winner. 

Speaking after her win, the American said: "I played really well today. It was just one of those days for me… 6-0 6-0, I've never done that before, I'll probably never do it again."

Data Debrief: Gauff matches Azarenka, Halep feat

Gauff is just the third player to register a 6-0 6-0 win in the women's singles draw at the Madrid Open, following in the footsteps of two former world number ones in Victoria Azarenka and Simona Halep.

The American, who only turned 20 last month, is also the youngest player to double bagel an opponent in any main-draw match on the WTA Tour since Iga Swiatek did so against Karolina Pliskova in the 2021 Italian Open final in Rome. 

Naomi Osaka was knocked out of the Madrid Open by Liudmila Samsonova after an entertaining second-round battle on Thursday.

Having won her first match on clay for two years against Greet Minnen a day earlier, Osaka was able to force a final set against 15th seed Samsonova but ultimately fell to defeat.

Samsonova won a close encounter 6-2 4-6 7-5 to book a clash with American Madison Keys – who defeated Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets – in the next round.

Osaka had beaten Samsonova at Indian Wells last month and came close to securing another victory as she recovered well from losing the opening set.

But the Japanese star was broken to fall 5-6 behind in the final set, and the Russian made no mistake in ruthlessly closing out the victory.

Data Debrief: Samsonova ends losing streak

This was a crucial win for Samsonova, who came into the match having lost four consecutive contests, including that Indian Wells defeat to Osaka on March 9.

Samsonova did apply plenty of pressure in the final set – forcing five break points compared to just one for Osaka – and was ultimately rewarded in the closing stages of a contest that lasted two hours and 22 minutes.

Victoria Azarenka made light work of progressing into the round of 32 at the Madrid Open and she made history in the progress.

Azarenka, a two-time finalist in Madrid, despatched Tatjana Maria 6-3 6-1 on Thursday.

It brought up her 200th victory at WTA 1000 events, which makes her the first woman to hit that milestone since the format was introduced in 2009.

The former world number one needed just 81 minutes on court to get the job done, and will face Sara Sorribes Tormo in the next round.

Data Debrief

This was Azarenka's first meeting with Maria, and her service game was excellent, with the Belarusian winning 63.2 per cent of her first-serve points. She also saved five break points, having offered up seven, and converted six going the other way.

Azarenka, who has won 10 WTA 1000 events, is 14 clear of next-best Simona Halep (186) on the list of women with the most WTA 1000 match wins. 

Maria Lourdes Carle made a splash at the Madrid Open on Wednesday, as the qualifier sent Emma Raducanu packing.

World number 82 Carle stepped into the void to fill in for Karolina Pliskova, who withdrew prior to the end of the qualifying rounds, to face 2021 US Open champion Raducanu.

It is just the second time Carle has reached the main draw of a WTA 1000 event, and she ensured it would be a memorable campaign after a 6-2 6-2 victory over Raducanu, who is now ranked at world number 221, though has enjoyed something of a return to form this season.

Raducanu reached the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Grand Prix last week, going down to world number one Iga Swiatek, but has recently enjoyed victories over the likes of Angelique Kerber and Caroline Garcia.

Data Debrief

Carle is the first player from Argentina to defeat a former women's singles grand slam Champion since Nadia Podoroska overcame Serena Williams in Rome in 2021. 

The 24-year-old is making just her sixth WTA main draw appearance, with her first WTA 1000 appearance having come in Miami in March.

Simona Halep may have celebrated the reduction of an initial four-year ban but tennis must be wary of players "losing faith in the system" after her alleged doping-related punishment.

That was the thoughts of Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) representative Ahmad Nassar after supporting Halep through the appeal process after she was banned by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for "intentional" doping offences.

The two-time grand slam champion remained staunch in her defence of innocence and eventually succeeded earlier this week as the ban that was initially set to last until 2026 was reduced to a nine-month suspension, which was backdated and allowed her straight back on the court.

"That's the shame of this – there are two impacts to this and they're at different ends of the spectrum," Nassar told Stats Perform.

"One is losing faith in the system and, the other is being pretty darn scared of the system.

"I never thought this could happen to even a former number one grand slam champion, or especially, a lower-ranked player that just gets completely rolled over.

"It really can happen to anyone. If we're making people lose faith in it, and simultaneously petrified of it – that's not a good system that is working."

Halep will return at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida, where the action starts on March 17, as the former world number one marks a comeback tournament with her record – and reputation – reinstated.

Questions remain for Nassar, though, as repeated calls persist for improvements in the regulatory system with reform needed in his eyes.

"This is the end of Simona's nightmare chapter dealing with this, and may she never have any dealing with this again," he continued.

"But we just know that the process out there right now is a ticking time bomb. Other players are still navigating it, there are players to come who will sadly have to navigate it.

"The goal of the programme is a clean sport, and a fair score for first and foremost, the players.

"So how do we how do we strike that balance? Within the current system, there is a lot of room for improvement.

"How do we ease that burden without losing sight of the first goal, which is nobody wants to play in a clean sport more than the players themselves? They are most affected if somebody is cheating."

Simona Halep's four-year ban being overturned comes as a "relief", though the decision to reinstate her WTA Tour position may be "bittersweet" due to time already missed on the court.

That was the message from Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) representative Ahmad Nassar, who discussed the damage that the initial decision could have on Halep's career.

The two-time grand slam champion was handed a long ban by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for "intentional" doping offences.

Halep, who won the 2018 French Open and Wimbledon in 2019, repeatedly defended her innocence.

The 32-year-old's appeal was eventually successful earlier this week as the ban that was initially set to last until 2026 was reduced to a nine-month suspension, which was backdated, meaning Halep can return to the court immediately.

"Bittersweet is a good word," Nassar told Stats Perform after the Court of Arbitration for Sport's (CAS) ruling.

"Relief is another word I would use. It's just a relief after a year and a half. The ups and downs of waiting, and then having this initial decision with the four-year ban, and the resulting 116-page decision.

"I worked in US federal court for a year after law school and a lot of times people write decisions to try to bulletproof it on appeal. Other times, it's kind of a pro forma thing, because there's zero chance that's going to get overturned on appeal.

"So when I saw that my first reaction was this is intended to try to bulletproof, throw the proverbial book at her and her team.

"So that on appeal, exactly what ended up happening didn't happen. That's such a sign of how broken the system is, because that shouldn't really be the motivation, the motivation should be what's the right answer?

"I represent all the players, not just Simona. And we go out of our way to say, all the players deserve a clean sport, first and foremost.

"Nobody's more affected by potential doping, especially in tennis, where it's one on one or two on two, than the players. 

"It's a win in a fairly technical sense. They sought to take it from four to six years, which to me is just a jaw-dropper. If you think about that, neither side was happy with the four-year ban, which makes it all the more remarkable that CAS ruled the way they did."

Halep, the former world number one, will make her return at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida, where action starts on March 17.

Whether she will be able to get back into her stride after a prolonged absence remains to be seen, a sticking point for Nassar.

He added: "Nobody won because you don't get to go back in time. Even if you went back to exactly the day after the nine-month suspension ended, which would have been last summer and let her resume play.

"Still, she went through nine months of assuming the worst, reading the worst, seeing the worst, hearing the worst. It's not only time but also opportunity, it's reputation.

"You take years and years and a whole career, decades to build up your name and you can lose it and your credibility and trust. You can lose it in an instant, and it's hard from that standpoint.

"That really frustrates me. This is not one of those things where you say, 'It's just professional sports, it comes with the territory', because when I look at other sports, this same dynamic does not exist.

"We don't want to call this a real win. She's a former number one, a major champion, with resources and wherewithal and ability, and later in her career, to be able to push back against this real machine that was mobilised against her.

"Most players, 99 per cent of them do not have that and so they take it on the chin, and either retire, or just take the four years and hope that they cut some terrible deal, if that's even in the offing, to settle and move on with their lives.

"That's why the players created the PTPA. It just highlights a huge gap in the system that is going to take years to fill, even on the anti-doping side. It's going to take years.

"I think there's some incremental reforms that hopefully can occur because of this situation that are better for everybody, not just the players. But it's going to be a long-term process."

Coco Gauff's emergence as arguably the biggest star of American tennis since Serena Williams is great for the women's game, says former British number one Laura Robson.

Gauff captured the imagination of the American public by winning the US Open last September, the 19-year-old fighting back to beat Aryna Sabalenka in a memorable final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

That made the teenager the first American – male or female – to win the tournament since Williams, who won the event for the sixth time in 2014. Gauff, Williams and her sister Venus are the only American women to claim the trophy in the 21st century.

Gauff will look to back up that success at the Australian Open when the first major of the year begins on Sunday, and Robson is delighted to see her thriving after being criticised earlier in 2023.

"I love what she's done in the last three months in particular, because over the clay courts and the grass-court season, everyone was writing her off," Robson told Stats Perform.

"She just went back to the drawing board, got a new team around her, played unbelievably at the Cincinnati Masters and came into the US Open with confidence. 

"You could tell, with the way that she played the longer matches, she just felt so good about her game. You could see how she was moving out there. 

"She is definitely the fastest out on tour at the moment on the women's side. I'm just super pumped for her. 

"To be in the stadium and to feel the energy when she won the US Open was crazy.

"I'd say 99.99 per cent of the stadium was going for her and it's going to be a huge boost for women's tennis to have an American superstar like her."

Asked whether Gauff was the natural successor to Williams – who finished her glittering career one major title shy of Margaret Court's record of 24 – Robson said other players' efforts to push American tennis forward should not be overlooked.

"I definitely feel like Jessica Pegula and Madison keys and people like that don't quite get enough credit for how much they've pushed American tennis," Robson continued. 

"Even going into the US Open, Pegula was the number one American, but Coco definitely had more attention on her, which is great because their different profiles are being raised, but at the same time they were still pushing each other along and playing doubles together almost every week. 

"It's just fantastic to see and the fact that there's now another name that you're throwing into the mix just makes everyone feel better."

Gauff currently sits a career-high third in the world rankings, though she has plenty of ground to make up on the top two, with Iga Swiatek currently edging out Sabalenka. 

Robson expects that duo to trade places often as they battle to dominate the women's game, saying: "You definitely struggle to see Swiatek losing at Roland Garros, with the way that she goes on clay.

"I think it's going to be quite nice because they each have different strengths. You would almost say Sabalenka goes slightly better on a hard court and Iga is better on clay.

"I can see it almost swapping back and forth over the next few years, but Iga is going to be right in there, for sure."

Coco Gauff has every chance of adding to her 2023 US Open triumph by winning further grand slam titles in the coming years.

That is the view of former world number four Johanna Konta, who also believes it is "only a matter of time" before the American rises to the top of the WTA rankings.

Having lost the French Open final to Iga Swiatek as an 18-year-old in 2022, Gauff went one step further on home soil last September, becoming the first American teenager to win the US Open title since Serena Williams in 1999.

Gauff is looking to add to that triumph when the Australian Open begins on Sunday, and she is considered one of the favourites to claim the trophy after making a flying start to 2024.

The teenager captured her second straight Auckland Classic title on Sunday, fighting back to beat Elina Svitolina and make it seven wins from eight tour-level singles finals in her career.

Konta believes last year's US Open victory was just the start for Gauff, telling Stats Perform: "She's already a grand slam champion. So, she's got every possibility to win multiple grand slams. 

"Once you're winning those tournaments, then it's only a matter of time before you get to world number one."

Gauff is up to third in the world rankings – the highest position of her career – though she has work to do to overhaul world number one Swiatek, who has won three of the last seven grand slams and is targeting her first Australian Open success after going out in the fourth round last year.

Konta, who failed to win a major during her own career despite reaching the last four at Melbourne Park, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, thinks the 22-year-old will be a force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future. 

"I think she's an incredibly consistent player, the level is just very consistent," Konta said of Swiatek.

"I think she will be one of the ones that will be there for a long time if she's just able to sustain that. I think she'll be one of the top handful."

Andy Murray will leave a lasting legacy on British tennis after his "historic" Wimbledon exploits when retirement eventually comes, according to Marion Bartoli.

Murray and Bartoli both triumphed at Wimbledon in 2013, the Scot defeating Novak Djokovic in straight sets and the Frenchwomen overcoming Sabine Lisicki.

A troublesome hip injury and subsequent surgery has caused issues in recent years for Murray, who also lifted the Wimbledon title in 2016 – adding to his US Open crown four years earlier.

The 36-year-old confirmed before the Queen's Championship last month that he has a period in mind for ending his professional career, leading Bartoli to hail Murray's impact on the sport.

"It's more for British tennis because the buzz when he won Wimbledon in 2013 for the first time was just insane – basically the whole country tuning in to watch that match," she told Stats Perform.

"Even the whole press, who are normally quite harsh with the players, especially the tabloids, were just cheering on for him because it was so historic.

"I can just remember the dinner we had at the Champions' Ball with Andy and his mother and my father and myself and it just felt like dinner with a mother and son, father and daughter, just being on the top of the world and just winning.

"Judy could say 'My son just won Wimbledon' and my dad could say 'My daughter just won Wimbledon' – it was very much that feeling. It was so special."

Murray, who has won two ATP Challenger titles this season, only made it as far as the second round at Wimbledon this month, losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in a battling display on Centre Court.

His appearance at the British major represented another major milestone nevertheless, given injuries seemed set to curtail his playing days after the 2023 Australian Open.

Bartoli added: "For Andy, after all his surgeries and everything, it's about how much he can still enjoy his tennis.

"When he feels that's it, that every day on the practice court is not as enjoyable as usual, and he's dragging himself to practice, that’s when the passion is vanishing and you know it's time [to retire].

"It's not that difficult of a decision when that happens. When you still have that passion and fire but your body doesn't follow anymore, then it's slightly more difficult.

"In many ways, Andy had a second chance. He'd sort of announced his retirement when he lost in the Australian Open and everyone was crying.

"Then he decided to come back and he had those successes and those great matches and epics, so maybe he already feels like he had his second chance.

"He'll walk away with a beautiful family, a business – a hotel, I think, in Scotland where he grew up – so he has so many things to look forward to. I think he'll be a very happy man."

Murray's diminishing influence on the upper echelons of tennis marks a downturn in British fortunes, with Cameron Norrie seemingly the next in line.

"For the British side of tennis – you have Cameron Norrie – but you feel that especially with [Carlos] Alcaraz coming in and all those players it's going to be more difficult to win a slam," Bartoli continued.

"But he's going to have his chance as well. He's close to being top 10."