Donna Vekic’s Battery Dies Twice at the Finish Line as Swiatek Sparks Back to Life in Beijing

Donna Vekic vs. Iga Swiatek — China Open 2026 Third-Round Match Report

Donna Vekic had Iga Swiatek exactly where she wanted her.

In the ropes.

Twice.

The Croatian served for the match at 5-2 and 5-4 in the second set, only to fall 0-40 behind on both occasions. Swiatek broke back each time, then swept the tiebreak 7-0 before pulling away in the decider for a remarkable 4-6, 7-6(0), 6-2 escape in Beijing.

It was the kind of match that will reinforce the idea that Swiatek has looked less secure recently. But her broader form tells a less alarming story.

Poland’s top athlete has now won 17 of her last 21 matches, and this time she survived largely because the pressure she created at the brink of defeat proved too much for Vekic.

One Break Gives Vekic the Opening Set

The first set was the least chaotic of the three.

Swiatek held to begin before Vekic levelled at 1-1 and then produced the only break of the set for 2-1.

That advantage held.

Vekic moved through 3-1, 4-2 and 5-3 without allowing Swiatek a route back onto level terms courtesy of some magical dropshots.

Swiatek continued to hold from her side, but she could not recover the early break.

Serving at 5-4, Vekic closed the set 6-4, leaving her coaching team ecstatic in the box.

There was little indication yet of the drama that would follow.

Vekic Serves for the Match Twice and Falls 0-40 Behind Twice

Vekic struck immediately in the second set, breaking Swiatek for 1-0 and consolidating for 2-0.

Swiatek remained within touching distance, but when Vekic broke again for 5-2, the match appeared finished. The Croatian had all the momentum after recovering from 30-0 down to reach deuce before breaking Swiatek on her first advantage point.

It was not.

Swiatek held for 5-3, forcing Vekic to serve for the match for the first time.

The pressure arrived instantly.

0-15.
0-30.
0-40.

Three break points before Vekic had won a point.

Swiatek converted and reduced the deficit to 5-3.

She then held, leaving Vekic with another opportunity to serve out the match at 5-4.

Exactly the same thing happened.

Again Vekic fell behind:

0-15.
0-30.
0-40.

Again, Swiatek broke.

From serving for victory twice, Vekic suddenly found herself at 5-5.

Swiatek then held for 6-5. Vekic did enough to force a tiebreak, but by then the psychological balance had changed completely.

The tiebreak was over almost before it began.

7-0 Swiatek.

Vekic had gone from twice serving for a straight-sets victory to playing a deciding set.

Heartbreak.

Swiatek Finally Pulls Away in the Third

The decider initially continued the pattern of exchanged breaks.

Swiatek broke immediately for 1-0.

Vekic broke straight back and then held for 2-1.

Swiatek levelled at 2-2.

From there, the match finally moved decisively in one direction.

Swiatek broke for 3-2, held for 4-2 and then survived a marathon game before breaking again for 5-2.

A final hold completed the comeback.

From 2-2 in the deciding set, Swiatek won four consecutive games to close out the match 6-2.

The Numbers Show Why Swiatek Survived

The winner count was identical: 37 each.

The difference came elsewhere.

Swiatek committed only 16 unforced errors, compared with Vekic’s 22, and she dominated behind her first serve, winning 72 percent of those points against Vekic’s 54 percent.

That helped produce a sizeable difference in dominance ratio:

Swiatek 1.29
Vekic 0.78

Swiatek also won 106 of the 195 total points, a 17-point advantage despite coming so close to losing in straight sets.

The strangest statistic is the pressure-point split. Vekic actually won 18 of 29 pressure points, considerably more than Swiatek’s 11.

But the most important pressure points of the entire match came in those two service games at 5-2 and 5-4.

On both occasions, Vekic started 0-40.

On both occasions, Swiatek broke.

That was the match.

Full Match Stats Donna Vekic vs Iga Swiatek

Vekic	Statistic	Swiatek
Full Match Duration: 2h40m
0.78	Dominance Ratio	1.29
37	Winners	37
22	Unforced Errors	16
234	Serve Rating	261
1	Aces	2
5	Double Faults	1
63% (67/106)	1st Serve %	69% (61/89)
54% (36/67)	1st Serve Points Won	72% (44/61)
54% (21/39)	2nd Serve Points Won	46% (13/28)
55% (6/11)	Break Points Saved	20% (1/5)
189	Return Rating	170
28% (17/61)	1st Return Points Won	46% (31/67)
54% (15/28)	2nd Return Points Won	46% (18/39)
4/5	Break Points Won	5/11
89	Total Points Won	106

Swiatek’s Recent Form Is Better Than the Noise Suggests

The narrow escape will inevitably add to discussion around Swiatek’s level, but her recent results deserve some perspective.

Across the 21 matches shown in her current run, Swiatek is 17-4.

She beat Elena Rybakina in the Toronto final, reached the Cincinnati semifinal and then made the US Open fourth round before losing to Qinwen Zheng. Her other recent defeats came against Jessica Pegula, Alexandra Eala and Emma Navarro.

So this is hardly a player in prolonged decline.

What Beijing exposed was something more specific: Swiatek can still become vulnerable when an opponent takes the initiative, but removing her from a match remains exceptionally difficult.

Vekic came within one service game of doing it twice.

Swiatek never let her reach match point.

That may be the most important part of this China Open escape.

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