Iga Swiatek Prefers Demanding First Round Matches in Grand Slams After Passing First Round Test at the Australian Open
Iga Swiatek will face Marie Bouzkova in the second round of the Australian Open.
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Iga Swiatek (Image via X/United Cup)
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Iga Swiatek is at the Australian Open, aiming to make history by completing the career Grand Slam in Melbourne. But the World No.2 got off to an underwhelming start at the tournament, something uncharacteristic of her, while her fellow contenders made light work of their first-round matches.
The Australian Open is the only major silverware missing in Swiatek’s trophy cabinet. The Polish star is seeking to add the title to her collection, which will make it her seventh Grade Slam trophy. But on Monday (January 19), the 24-year-old didn’t display a convincing performance at the Rod Laver Arena.
She started slowly and began to grapple with her serving errors, committing 34 unforced errors against Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue. She wobbled in her second serve, with Yuan winning 59 percent of it. However, Swiatek still found a way to beat the World No.130 7-6(5), 6-2 to seal a place in the second round.
The Polish star’s performance in Melbourne is in line with her display at the United Cup, which was her warm-up tournament. Though Poland won the championship for the first time in their career, the team had to rely on Hubert Hurkacz when it mattered. Swiatek lost to Coco Gauff in the semi-finals and Belinda Bencic in the final.
If Swiatek seeks win the Australian Open, she knows that she has to improve in several aspects of her game. When questioned about her average performance in the opening match, she noted that she prefers having a tough opening match as it helps her to learn from her mistakes quickly before the next stage of the event:
It’s true that if you play a lot of long matches, your body feels it, but if you start with easy matches and then a tough one comes along, you can feel rusty. I’ve experienced both situations. There’s not much point in overanalyzing them. The important thing is to learn from what happened and be ready for the next match.
Swiatek’s contenders at the Australian Open, Aryna Sabalenka, Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, and Jessica Pegula all cruised to the second round. They are the favorites to win the Grand Slam tournament this year, with Sabalenka the most favorite, having reached the final on three consecutive occasions.
Iga Swiatek satisfied with her first-round performance despite uncharacteristic errors
Iga Swiatek has made it to the semi-finals of the Australian Open just twice in her career, and one of them happened last year. She reached the last four of the event before losing to Madison Keys in three sets. She was expected to cruise past Yuan Yue in the first round but the World No.130 was unfazed by her status and came out with all guns.
The Chinese star shocked Swiatek in the second game of the match, only for the 24-year-old to find a way to win. During the aforementioned press conference, Swiatek admitted that she was happy with her performance on the court, while commending her opponent’s display:
I’m happy I was able to overcome that and close out the match in two sets. In the tiebreak, I managed to play more aggressively and more precisely. I think she played well. She took advantage of some opportunities I gave her and was very solid with her forehand. She opted for a fast and aggressive game, so she played a good match.
Swiatek has won four Roland Garros, one US Open, and Wimbledon in her career. Should she win the Australian Open this year, she will become the seventh woman in the Open Era to complete the career Grand Slam and the third youngest after Serena Williams and German legend Steffi Graf.
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