The last two women’s French Open champions will meet at the Madrid Open after Ashleigh Barty and Iga Swiatek both made it through to the third round on Saturday.
World number one Barty survived a scare to beat Tamara Zidansek in three sets before Poland’s Swiatek saw off Laura Siegemund 6-3, 6-3 to set up an intriguing clash on Monday at the Caja Magica.
Despite her straight-sets win, the 14th seeded Pole needed 11 match points to secure victory in the final game.
Barty won her first and to date, only Grand Slam singles title at Roland Garros in 2019 before Swiatek sprung an even bigger surprise last year in Paris, after knocking out the 2018 champion Simona Halep.
“It’s …
Keep on reading: French Open champions Barty and Swiatek set up Madrid clash