Iga Swiatek and Bianca Andreescu Talk Ahead of Quarterfinal Blockbuster at Italian Open 2022

OME, ITALY - MAY 12: Iga Swiatek of Poland in action against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in her third round match during Day 5 of the Internazionali BNL D'Italia at Foro Italico on May 12, 2022 in Rome, Italy (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images) — OME, ITALY – MAY 12: Iga Swiatek of Poland in action against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in her third round match during Day 5 of the Internazionali BNL D’Italia at Foro Italico on May 12, 2022 in Rome, Italy (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)

World No.1 Iga Swiatek will lock horns with the 2019 US Open Champion Bianca Andreescu at the Italian Open 2022 quarterfinal in Rome. Ahead of the first WTA Tour encounter, both of them showered praise on each other.

Iga Swiatek is now dazzling as an unbeaten player on the WTA Tour since the Qatar Open. And she has won four titles in a row. In Rome, Polish is a top seed and reached the quarterfinal without losing a single set.

“Bianca’s a great player. Watching her last year, it really struck me how much variety she has, the drop shots. It’s really nice to watch her game”, Iga Swiatek said ahead of Canadian Bianca Andreescu clash on the red dirt in the capital of Italy.

The 20-year-old from Warsaw also expressed, “It’s going to be a really exciting match, but for me, the most important thing is to get more and more comfortable on clay.’’

“I Love The Challenge”: Bianca Andreescu Excited To Play Iga Switek at Italian Open 2022

ROME, ITALY - MAY 12: Bianca Andreescu of Canada in action against Petra Martic of Croatia in her third round match during Day 5 of the Internazionali BNL D'Italia at Foro Italico on May 12, 2022 in Rome, Italy (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images) — ROME, ITALY – MAY 12: Bianca Andreescu of Canada in action against Petra Martic of Croatia in her third round match during Day 5 of the Internazionali BNL D’Italia at Foro Italico on May 12, 2022 in Rome, Italy (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)

After a long hiatus, Andreescu resumed her action at the Stuttgart Open 2022 in Germany last month. Before arriving in Rome, Bianca contested at the Mutua Madrid Open 2022, where she fell in the round of 16 to American Jessica Pegula in straight sets.

However, the 21-year-old Canadian reached the first quarterfinal of the season at the Italian Open 2022 after driving past Spaniard Nuria Parrizas-Daiz and Croatian Petra Martic in straight sets.

Speaking ahead of Iga Swiatek’s quarter-final campaign, Andreescu explained, “She’s playing great tennis. I really admire her success. But I’m very excited to play her. I love the challenge.”

“It’s really nice to see that we started in the juniors together and watching us both excel at the same time is awesome,” the former World No.4 added.