Swiatek fights her way into the Madrid Open quarterfinals

Title: Swiatek Sails through Madrid Open Chaos, Dimitrov Survives Rollercoaster Ride

In the midst of Spain's power outage chaos, defending champion Iga Swiatek stormed into her fifth WTA 1000 quarterfinal of the year with a thrilling 6-0, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 victory over 13th-seeded Diana Shnaider at the Madrid Open on Tuesday.

After a nationwide blackout forced the cancellation of most matches at the Caja Magica on Monday, power was eventually restored on Tuesday morning, allowing play to begin at noon. In her first-ever match against the Russian left-hander, Swiatek saved 11 of 13 break points en route to a two-hour 34-minute triumph that set her up for a blockbuster showdown with Australian Open champion Madison Keys.

When asked about the power outage, the ever-relaxed Swiatek, 23, admitted she had enjoyed the brief break from the digital world. "Honestly, I liked yesterday. The whole world was more relaxed, I guess. I had time to rest," she said with a smile. "It's good that in Madrid, the sun sets late. As soon as it got dark, they got the power back in our area. I just chilled and used the time to not think about what I should do. There was no signal, so no one used their phones. It was nice."

Elsewhere on the men's side, Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov battled to complete a 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) win over Britain's Jacob Fearnley, converting his third match point some 27 hours after his first. The match had been suspended on Monday with Dimitrov leading 6-4, 5-4. Upon resuming play on Tuesday, both players held serve before Dimitrov edged the tie-break.

"That shows how quickly things can change in life, too," said Dimitrov, who will face lucky loser Gabriel Diallo in the fourth round. "From one point, you're serving for the match, from the other, you're about to receive, and then the lights went out. I always take these situations as a learning curve."

Remarkably, the power outage affected 22 matches across both the men's and women's draws, with several marquee names enduring lengthy delays. Among them were Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, and Denis Shapovalov, who all took to the court on Tuesday to complete their third-round matches.

In other notable results, sixth-seeded Alex de Minaur defeated Shapovalov 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) and awaits either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Lorenzo Musetti in the round of 16. Recording his 24th victory of the season, the Australian now ties Carlos Alcaraz for the most wins on tour in 2025. De Minaur, who faced no such interruptions in his match, admitted he enjoyed the downtime brought about by the blackout. "It was definitely something different," he said. "It gives you a new perspective on your everyday, how in tune you are with technology these days. At least for me, I enjoyed having a little bit of time off the grid. So it was quite fine."

American 11th seed Tommy Paul overcame 24th-seeded Karen Khachanov 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, while 16th seed Frances Tiafoe beat Alexandre Muller 6-3, 6-3 to set up a fourth-round encounter with Matteo Arnaldi, who stunned top seed Novak Djokovic earlier in the tournament.

Both Tiafoe and Muller were among those caught up in the hours-long traffic jams resulting from the scattered evacuation of the stadium, with limited food options available to the stranded players. "It's one of those things, man. Just hang around, chill. Just try to find the laughs about it," said Tiafoe. "Obviously, it's one of those things. Everyone's in the same situation. Just have to realize how it normalizes everything, everyone. Some things are so much bigger than you, and you just have to take it for what it is."

Despite the disruptions caused by the power outage, tech giant Caja Magica resumed operations on Tuesday, allowing the tennis tournament to continue.
Iga Swiatek's triumph over Diana Shnaider, her first against a left-handed opponent, was a testament to her resilience and adaptability, aided by the temporary tech detachment due to the power outage.
The world of sports, specifically tennis, was affected by the power outage, delaying several matches and even disrupting the food supply for the players.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) could potentially aid in predicting such unexpected events in the future, allowing tournaments to plan better backup solutions for such unforeseen circumstances.
food options for players became scarce due to the chaos caused by the power outage, leading to long waits and limited choices for the stranded participants.
Grigor Dimitrov, in reflecting on the power outage and its impact on his match, noted the unpredictability of life, likening it to the rollercoaster ride of tennis matches, where things can change in the blink of an eye.