Melbourne: Second seed Iga Swiatek began her Australian Open campaign with a hard-fought first-round victory on Monday, defeating the Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 21 minutes.
The win extended Swiatek’s perfect record in first-round matches at the tournament.
Facing the 28-year-old Siniakova, a nine-time Grand Slam doubles champion, Swiatek relied on a dominant first serve to secure the victory. The Polish star landed 71 per cent of her first serves with an average speed of 168 km/h and won 79 per cent of those points. In contrast, Siniakova, ranked No. 50, managed 60 per cent of first serves and won 56 per cent of those points.
While Siniakova hit two more winners than Swiatek, she also committed eight additional unforced errors.
“For sure it wasn’t an easy first round, so I’m happy that I’m through,” Swiatek said post-match. “She was playing really well and I just needed to be more proactive and in the second set I did that, so I was happy.”
The opening set saw both players hold serve for the first five games before Swiatek broke to lead 5-3 and served out the set. She carried the momentum into the second set, taking a 2-0 lead. However, Siniakova fought back to lead 3-2 before Swiatek elevated her game to close out the match.
A sixth Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park would see Swiatek reclaim the No. 1 ranking, which she previously held for 75 consecutive weeks from 2022 to 2023 and again until October 2024.
Swiatek will face Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova in the second round while Siniakova will shift her focus to the women’s doubles, where she and Taylor Townsend of the United States are the top seeds.
–IANS
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