Clara Tauson admits her shock win over Iga Swiatek in Toronto feels even sweeter after she suffered a heavy defeat in their previous meeting.
The Danish world No.19 rallied to a 7-6(1), 6-3, triumph over the Wimbledon champion to secure her fourth win over a top 10 player on the Tour, with three of those victories occurring this season. Tauson won 74% of her first service points and converted three out of her five break point opportunities. She is the second player from her country to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament, following Caroline Wozniacki.
Tauson’s win over Swiatek came less than a month after she was beaten by the Pole at Wimbledon, losing 6-4, 6-1, in the fourth round. She admits her revenge win is a ‘nice’ feeling.
“I played Iga three times before, and I’ve been close two of the times. I just felt like after I won the first set, that I needed to continue because I know she’s never going to give up, and she’s going to come out firing no matter what,” said Tauson.
“I think getting a win against her after losing to her in Wimbledon is nice, because I was not feeling great in that match, and I felt like I was playing some good tennis in Wimbledon. I felt like if I could keep that going, I thought I had a shot. It’s really nice to sit here now.”
The 22-year-old rose to prominence at a young age, becoming the first player from her country to become the junior world No. 1 and claiming the Australian Open girls’ title in 2019. Since then, she has made steady progress on the Tour en route to cracking the top 20 for the first time last month.
During her rise on the Tour, Tauson has been keen to shrug off any comparisons between her and compatriot Wozniacki.
“I’ve always separated myself a bit from that because Caroline is one of the biggest influences in Danish tennis,” she said.
“I think we’re two very different playing styles and I’ve always said that from a young age. I don’t feel like I’ve had any kind of pressure like that.
“Even just getting to the top 100 was a win for me when I was, like, 18 years old. So now it’s falling a bit more into place, my game and the mentality part. So I think I just needed a little bit of time.”
Tauson will play Madison Keys in the quarter-finals later this week.
