Iga Swiatek overturned a 6-4, 5-2 deficit against Donna Vekic to keep her China Open campaign alive in Beijing, recovering for a 4-6, 7-6(0), 6-2 third-round victory after 2 hours and 40 minutes. The 2023 champion now moves into the last 16 of the WTA 1000 event.
- Vekic, the No. 30 seed, seized the opening set 6-4 and then built a commanding 5-2 advantage in the second.
- Swiatek broke serve twice to pull level at 5-5, and neither player yielded another break before the set reached a tiebreak.
- The Pole took the tiebreak 7-0, sending the contest into a deciding set after wiping out Vekic’s substantial advantage.
- There was one break apiece at the start of the third, before Swiatek broke again for a 3-2 lead and closed out the match 6-2.
The result extended Swiatek’s perfect record against the Croatian to five meetings. Before Monday, she had won all four of their previous matches and surrendered only one set across those encounters.
Vekic had been close to ending that run in Beijing, but instead suffered her third loss of 2026 against a top-10 opponent. Her earlier defeats in that category came against Mirra Andreeva at the Australian Open and Jessica Pegula at Indian Wells.
WTA 1000 milestones in Beijing
Swiatek has reached the round of 16 at a WTA 1000 tournament for the 40th time in her career. She is pursuing what would be her 13th title at this level.
The victory was also her 147th WTA 1000 match win. Only Serena Williams, on 148, and Aryna Sabalenka, with 156, have recorded more victories at the category.
Next round
Swiatek will meet 10th-seeded American Iva Jovic for a place in the Beijing quarter-finals. Jovic booked her last-16 spot with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Kamilla Rakhimova in Monday’s third-round action.
