Swiatek recovers from 0-6 start to beat Keys and set up Madrid semifinal vs. Gauff

MADRID (AP) — Iga Swiatek survived “one of the weirdest matches” after losing the first six games and recovering to defeat Madison Keys 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 and stay on track to defend her title at the Madrid Open on Wednesday.

The second-ranked Swiatek will face Coco Gauff in the semifinals after the 21-year-old American beat teenager Mirra Andreeva in straight sets in the youngest WTA 1000 quarterfinal since 2009.

Swiatek was overpowered by Keys early in their quarterfinal but eventually found a way to rally past the fifth-ranked American on center court.

“It was one of the weirdest matches I played,” Swiatek said. “Maddie was playing just perfectly at the beginning and I wasn’t really proactive with anything. I let Maddie do more mistakes by just putting the ball back and the momentum changed.”

Swiatek said of going down 0-6 at the start of the match: “At least it was fast, that’s the only positive think.”

It was the first meeting between the two since Swiatek squandered a match point in the semifinals of the Australian Open that was won by Keys.

Swiatek is trying to reach her third straight Madrid final. She beat Aryna Sabalenka last year after losing to her in 2023.

Top-ranked Sabalenka needed two tiebreakers to advance, beating Marta Kostyuk 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7).

Sabalenka will face 17th-seeded Elina Svitolina for a spot in the final. Svitolina beat Moyuka Uchijima 6-2, 6-1.

Gauff, ranked No. 4, who got past seventh-ranked Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-1. Andreeva turned 18 on Tuesday.

Since the introduction of the WTA 1000 tier, only the 2009 Indian Wells quarterfinal between Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Agnieszka Radwanska had a younger combined age, the WTA said.

Gauff recovered after being down a break at 5-4 in the first set. She faced two set points.

“Off the ground I think I was dictating most of the rallies, so happy with that,” Gauff said. “Overall happy with everything.”

Both Gauff and Andreeva had been able to finish their matches in the previous round just before play was paused because of the major blackout that brought Spain and Portugal to a standstill on Monday. More than 20 matches had to be postponed at the Caja Magica tennis complex.

Matteo Arnaldi backed up his victory over Novak Djokovic in the second round of the men's draw by defeating Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals of an ATP 1000 tournament for the second time.

Arnaldi now has three consecutive wins against top 20 opponents for the first time in his career.

The Italian will next face Jack Draper, who advanced by beating Tommy Paul 6-2, 6-2 in 68 minutes. The sixth-ranked Draper clinched his maiden ATP 1000 title in Indian Wells this year.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

United States' Coco Gauff serves against Mirra Andreeva of Russia at the Madrid Open quarter-final tennis match in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates following her victory over United States' Madison Keys during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Iga Swiatek of Poland covers her face with a towel during her match against United States' Madison Keys at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

United States' Coco Gauff, right, shakes hands after her victory Mirra Andreeva of Russia at the Madrid Open quarter-final tennis match in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

United States' Coco Gauff returns against Mirra Andreeva of Russia at the Madrid Open quarter-final tennis match in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

United States' Coco Gauff returns the ball against Mirra Andreeva of Russia at the Madrid Open quarter-final tennis match in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

United States' Coco Gauff eyes the ball as she plays Mirra Andreeva of Russia at the Madrid Open quarter-final tennis match in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

United States' Coco Gauff celebrates after her victory over Mirra Andreeva of Russia at the Madrid Open quarter-final tennis match in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

United States' Coco Gauff celebrates after her victory over Mirra Andreeva of Russia at the Madrid Open quarter-final tennis match in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Iga Swiatek of Poland returns the ball against United States' Madison Keys during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates following her victory over United States' Madison Keys during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — A fire ripped through a bar’s New Year celebration in a Swiss Alpine resort less than two hours after midnight Thursday, with dozens of people feared dead and about 100 more injured, most seriously, police said.

The Crans-Montana resort is best known as an international ski and golf venue and overnight its crowded Le Constellation bar morphed from a scene of revelry into the site of potentially one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies.

“Several tens of people” were killed at the bar, Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said during a news conference.

Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families but “that will take time and for the time being it is premature to give you a more precise figure," Gisler said, adding that the community is “devastated.”

Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage.

“At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.

Helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to assist victims, including some from different countries, officials said.

Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV that they were inside when they saw a barman carrying a barmaid on his shoulders. The barmaid was holding a lit candle in a bottle that set fire to the wooden ceiling. The flames quickly spread and collapsed the ceiling, they told the broadcaster.

One of the women described a crowd surge as people frantically tried to escape from a basement nightclub up a narrow flight of stairs and through a narrow door.

Another witness speaking to BFMTV described people smashing windows to escape the blaze, some gravely injured, and panicked parents rushing to the scene in cars to see whether their children were trapped inside. The young man said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames and likened what he saw to a horror movie as he watched from across the street.

Officials described how the blaze likely triggered the release of combustible gases that ignited violently and caused what English-speaking firefighters call a flashover or backdraft.

“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Rénard, head of the regional government.

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, Rénard said.

Crans-Montana is less than 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Sierre, Switzerland, where 28 people including many children were killed when a bus from Belgium crashed inside a Swiss tunnel in 2012.

In a region busy with tourists skiing on the slopes, the authorities have called on the local population to show caution in the coming days to avoid any accidents that could require medical resources that are already overwhelmed.

With high-altitude ski runs rising around 3,000 meters (nearly 9,850 feet) in the heart of the Valais region's snowy peaks and pine forests, Crans-Montana is one of the top venues on the World Cup circuit. The resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers, including Lindsey Vonn, for their final events before the Milan Cortina Olympics in February. The town's Crans-sur-Sierre golf club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course.

The Swiss blaze on Thursday came 25 years after an inferno in the Dutch fishing town of Volendam on New Year’s Eve, which killed 14 people and injured more than 200 as they celebrated in a cafe.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin said in a social media post that the government’s “thoughts go to the victims, to the injured and their relatives, to whom it addresses its sincere condolences.”

Thursday was Parmelin’s first day in office as the seven members of Switzerland’s government take turns holding the presidency for one year. Out of respect for the families of the victims, he delayed a traditional New Year address to the nation meant to be broadcast Thursday afternoon, Swiss broadcasters SRF and RTS reported.

Dazio reported from Berlin and Leicester reported from Paris. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.

From left, Mathias Reynard, State Councillor and president of the Council of State of the Canton of Valais, Stephane Ganzer, State Councillor and head of the Department of Security, Institutions and Sport of the Canton of Valais, Frederic Gisler, Commander of the Valais Cantonal Police and Beatrice Pilloud, Attorney General of the Canton of Valais during a press conference in Lens, following a fire that broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

From left, Mathias Reynard, State Councillor and president of the Council of State of the Canton of Valais, Stephane Ganzer, State Councillor and head of the Department of Security, Institutions and Sport of the Canton of Valais, Frederic Gisler, Commander of the Valais Cantonal Police, Beatrice Pilloud, Attorney General of the Canton of Valais and Nicole Bonvin-Clivaz, Vice-President of the Municipal Council of Crans-Montana during a press conference in Lens, following a fire that broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

A skier walks in the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

A banner stating that fireworks are prohibited due to the risk of fire is pictured near the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)