Iga Swiatek endured a tricky start to her bid for a maiden Australian Open title after battling past China’s Yue Yuan in a closely contested encounter.
The Polish second seed held her nerve to edge out Yuan, 7-6(4), 6-3, who headed into the match with a 1-12 record against top 10 players. Despite being separated by more than 100 places in the rankings, Swiatek’s power and intensity were matched by her opponent throughout the opening set before she managed to pull away in the second when Yuan started to experience some physical discomfort.
“I was a bit rusty at the beginning, I didn’t really start well and she used the opportunity,” Swiatek said during her on-court interview.
“But I knew if I put the hard work in, I will 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, there were many ups and downs. I have some stuff to work on, so I’ll just focus on that.”
Six-time major winner Swiatek was put through her paces from the onset. Twice in the opening set, she found herself a break down and at one stage was behind 3-5. Nevertheless, she managed to work her way back into the set before taking proceedings into a closely contested tiebreaker. Swiatek then lost a minibreak advantage twice before winning four points in a row to seal the set.
The Pole initially had a smoother ride in the second frame as Yuan struggled with a lower back issue, forcing her to call for a physio when down 0-3. Last week, the Chinese player won three matches in qualifying en route to the main draw, with two of those going to three sets.
Following the medical treatment, Swiatek found herself under more pressure after losing two games in a row to a recharged Yuan. Nevertheless, she managed to hold her nerve and close out the match in two sets in exactly two hours by hitting a backhand winner down the line.
“It was mostly footwork because I started a bit tight,” Swiatek explained when asked which area of her game she needs to work on before her next match.
“I needed to get my legs moving and go after my shots. I just needed to react a bit quicker and not be pushed back, but really go for it.
“It wasn’t perfect, but that’s why I’m happy because it’s not hard to win matches when everything is going well. So today it wasn’t, but I managed to win. So that’s good.”
Swiatek is bidding to complete a career Grand Slam at the Australian Open, which has only been achieved on the women’s Tour by Steffi Graf, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova since 1990.
In the next round, she will play former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Marie Bouzková, who beat Renata Zarazúa 6-2, 7-5.
