Iga Swiatek has continued her charge for another WTA title after storming into the Dubai Tennis Championships quarter-finals.
Swiatek has empathised with Jannik Sinner following his three-month ban verdict, but the Pole is now fully focused on success on the court.
WTA number two Swiatek said her anger isn’t visible while playing, only to smash her racket shortly after at the Qatar Open.
The former world number one fell to Jelena Ostapenko in the semi-finals in Doha, in what was her first event since reaching that stage of the Australian Open.
Swiatek is now back to her successful ways in Dubai, where she has beaten Victoria Azarenka and Dayana Yastremska to reach the quarter-finals.
Iga Swiatek equals Serena Williams quarter-final record at Dubai Tennis Championships
The five-time Grand Slam champion beat the former 6-0, 6-2 in the round of 32, before beating the latter 7-5, 6-0 in the round of 16.
Second seed Swiatek has now picked up bagels in her two Dubai wins, but her latest victory has helped her superbly follow in the footsteps of WTA legend Serena Williams.
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Among players with two or more main draws since 2009, Swiatek has joined Williams in players to have reached the quarter-final from 60+% of WTA 1000 main draws entered.
As per OptaAce, her figure of 60.6% (20/33) is just behind the 61.2% (30/49) figure of the American icon.
In fact, only Williams (26) and Maria Sharapova (29) have taken fewer appearances to reach 20 WTA 1000 quarter-finals than Swiatek (33), as per OptaAce.
Iga Swiatek thrives in Dubai as Aryna Sabalenka struggles
Despite being just 23, Swiatek boasts a stunning 22 WTA Tour titles, five of which have come at Grand Slam level.
The Pole has also reached world number one in her career, but lost that ranking to Aryna Sabalenka at the end of last season.
READ MORE: Iga Swiatek says what she and Aryna Sabalenka bring to the WTA Tour which has been missing for ages
Swiatek has been unable to return to the summit of women’s tennis since then, but another intriguing battle between the pair is certainly on the cards this season.
Both players were strong contenders to win the Australian Open, but both were stopped in their tracks by champion Madison Keys.
The European pair then fell to early exits in Qatar, with Sabalenka again struggling in Dubai with a shock round of 16 loss to Clara Tauson.
Importantly, while the Belarusian has proven herself to be a hard-court specialist in recent seasons, it is Swiatek who will fancy her chances of triumphing at the next Grand Slam.
She has remarkably won four of the last five titles at the French Open, with Sabalenka only ever making it to the semi-finals of the clay-court event.
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