Iga Swiatek came on strong in the second set of her last-16 clash with Dayana Yastremska at the Dubai Tennis Championships, triumphing 7-5 6-0 to reach the quarter-finals.

Having crushed Victoria Azarenka 6-0 6-2 in Tuesday's rain-delayed second-round match, Swiatek initially faced a tougher challenge against her Ukrainian opponent on Wednesday.

The 59-minute opening set featured four straight breaks between the sixth and ninth games, Yastremska twice getting the immediate break back after dropping serve.

But Swiatek got the fifth break of the opener to love, and the second set was a different story as the world number two dominated with her consistent serving and powerful return game.

The Pole converted her third match point when Yastremska's forehand fell long, wrapping up the second set in a quickfire 33 minutes.

She will face either Mirra Andreeva or Peyton Stearns – who has already eliminated Ons Jabeur and Qinwen Zheng – for a place in the last four.

60 - Among players with 2+ main draws since 2009, Iga Swiatek (60.6%, 20/33) is only second player to reach the quarter-final from 60+% of WTA-1000 main draws entered, after Serena Williams (61.2%, 30/49). Illustrious. #DDFTennis | @DDFTennis @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/HNzw4UORlN

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) February 19, 2025

Data Debrief: Twenty up for Swiatek

Swiatek made little fuss about reaching her 20th quarter-final at WTA-1000 tournaments, reaching that milestone in just 33 main-draw appearances.

Since the format was introduced in 2009, only Serena Williams (26 tournaments) and Maria Sharapova (29) have needed fewer attempts to reach 20 WTA-1000 quarter-finals.

Among all players to play at least two WTA-1000 competitions, Swiatek (60.2%) is one of just two players to reach the last eight on at least 60% of their main-draw appearances, alongside Williams (61.2%).