Iga Swiatek had a tricky start on Monday but managed to battle past Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue to kick off her Australian Open campaign in her quest for a career Grand Slam. The Polish second seed was pushed hard in the first set on Rod Laver Arena before coming through 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 after more than two hours. Iga Swiatek will now face Czech player Marie Bouzkova in the next round.
The win was a relief for Iga Swiatek, who had lost her last two singles matches at the United Cup to Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic. However, 35 unforced errors will be a concern, especially against a player who had only made it past the first round once in 13 previous Grand Slam appearances.
“I was a bit rusty at the beginning, I didn’t really start well and she used the opportunity,” she said.
“But I knew if I could put the hard work in, I would play better. So that’s what I tried to do from the middle of the first set.
“I’m happy that it worked. For sure, many ups and downs, I have some stuff to work on, so I’ll just focus on that.”
Career Grand Slam Still on the Horizon
Iga Swiatek has already won four French Opens, the US Open, and Wimbledon, but a title at Melbourne Park has so far eluded her.
The 24-year-old has reached the semi-finals twice but never gone further. Should she finally win the Australian Open and complete the career Grand Slam, she would become only the seventh woman in the Open era to achieve the feat and the third youngest after Steffi Graf and Serena Williams.
Yuan Yue Gives Swiatek a Test
Yuan, ranked 130, showed no fear in taking on a player of Swiatek’s stature. She broke Swiatek’s first service game and held her next game to take an early lead. Swiatek had to save a break point on her next serve before finding her rhythm.
Once her timing and shots started working, Swiatek broke to level the set at 3-3. But Yuan fought back to break again. The set eventually headed to a tiebreak, where Swiatek had to dig deep to get through, finishing with 21 unforced errors in the set.
Iga Swiatek Pulls Away in the Second Set
Iga Swiatek started the second set strongly, racing to a 3-0 lead. Yuan had a medical timeout for a lower back issue, and it seemed like Swiatek would take control easily. The 27-year-old fought back to win the next two games, keeping the contest alive, but eventually ran out of steam as Swiatek’s power and consistency proved too much.
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