Iga Świątek defeated French tennis player Diane Parry in straight sets on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open.
The Polish world number five won 6-3, 6-3 to advance to her 30th career quarter-final at WTA 1000 level and her fourth at the hard-court tournament in Mason, Ohio.
Parry, ranked 66th in the WTA rankings, opened the match with immediate pressure, breaking Świątek's serve in the very first game using two long, single-handed slice backhands. Świątek remained unfazed by the early setback, responding calmly to break back immediately and equalize before building a 3-1 lead.
The fifth seed extended her advantage to 4-1 while serving with surgical precision, landing 88 percent of her first serves during the initial phase of the contest. She closed out the opening set 6-3 in 46 minutes.
Świątek maintained a reliable first-serve accuracy of over 60 percent across the match. Working alongside Spanish coach Francisco Roig, she prioritized safe, consistent ball placement over immediate service power, continuing a tactical approach that previously helped her win the title in Toronto.
French opponent background and Olympic history
Parry's trademark single-handed backhand proved to be a double-edged sword during the match, as Świątek repeatedly targeted it with heavy topspin forehands that were difficult for the Frenchwoman to return.
The 23-year-old French player features an elegant, traditional playing style inspired by former world number one Amelie Mauresmo and Swiss legend Roger Federer. According to French journalists, her physical and mental toughness on court was forged during her childhood by playing tennis against her three older brothers before they switched to football.
Although Parry was born in Nice after her mother unexpectedly went into labour at the end of a summer holiday, she spent her entire life living directly across the street from the Stade Roland Garros courts in Paris. She attended primary school and high school adjacent to the historic venue and trained at the National Tennis Centre located on the same grounds.
A devoted supporter of Paris Saint-Germain, Parry frequently attended football matches at the nearby Parc des Princes stadium with her brothers. Following a victory over Amanda Anisimova at the last French Open, she joined local fans in singing club anthems from the court, before being eliminated in her next match by Polish player Maja Chwalińska.
Wednesday's meeting in Cincinnati was only the second career encounter between Świątek and Parry. Their first match resulted in a painful first-round defeat for Parry during the Paris Olympic Games on the clay courts of Roland Garros.
Second set response and final games
In the second set, Świątek defended her serve through early difficulties before breaking Parry's serve to take a 2-1 lead. Immediately after securing the break, Świątek shouted her trademark rallying cry at full volume to elevate her intensity against Parry's slow slicing tempo.
Świątek broke the Frenchwoman's serve again to advance to 4-1 and held serve to reach 5-1. Parry mounted a late defense, saving herself from defeat and breaking Świątek's serve with the help of Świątek's first double fault of the match to narrow the score to 5-3.
Świątek responded firmly by breaking Parry's serve one last time to claim the set 6-3 and complete the victory after a hard-fought battle.
Upcoming quarter-final match
Świątek will return to the court on Thursday to compete for a spot in the semi-finals. She will play the winner of the third-round match between world number 14 Diana Shnaider and world number two Elena Rybakina.
If Rybakina advances, the quarter-final matchup will serve as a rematch of the recent Toronto tournament final.
