(New York) World No. 1 and defending champion Iga Swiatek cleared the first round hurdle at the US Open on Monday by easily eliminating Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson, 6-0, 6-1, in New York.
After this victory against the 86th player in the world, the 22-year-old Polish will face in the second round the Australian Daria Saville (322nd), who beat a little earlier 6-0, 6-2 the American Clervie Ngounoue (494th).
On the Arthur Ashe court, Swiatek left the Swede no chance, offering herself three break points before rolling to win the first set 6-0. Peterson won his first serve in the second set, but then Swiatek gave him no chance (6-1).
“I really wanted to play a solid match,” she said on the court after her victory, saying she was happy that she didn’t shake “despite the pressure and the expectations” around her.
If the next round seems affordable for the Pole, Swiatek is promised a delicate end to the course on the road to a new title at Flushing Meadows, which would constitute her fifth Grand Slam victory.
She could theoretically meet in the quarter-finals the player in form of the moment, the American Coco Gauff (6th in the world), who beat her in the semi-finals of the Cincinnati tournament, then the Kazakh Elena Rybakina (4th), before possibly find the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (2nd) in the final.
Kazakh Elena Rybakina, 4th in the world, easily qualified for the second round by dismissing Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk (39th) 6-2, 6-1 on Monday.
In the next round, the 24-year-old, still in search of a second Grand Slam title after Wimbledon 2022 and her lost final at the start of the year at the Australian Open, will face either Australian Ajla Tomljanovic (127th), quarter finalist last year after retiring Queen Serena Williams, Hungarian Panna Udvardy (122nd).
Rybakina, who has reached at least the quarter-finals of the other three Majors during her career, has never passed the third round at Flushing Meadows, reached in 2021. Last year, she was taken out of entry.
The Czech Karolina Muchova (10th in the world) became the first player to qualify for the second round on Monday, beating the Australian Storm Hunter (158th), 6-4, 6-0.
It only took one hour and five minutes for the recent finalist of the Roland-Garros tournament to overcome Storm Hunter, best known for her qualities as a doubles player (N.3 in the world).
In the second round, Muchova will face the winner of the match between Polish Magdalena Frech (77th in the world) and American Emma Navarro (57th).
The Greek Maria Sakkari, eighth player in the world and also seeded N.8 of the tournament, was eliminated Monday in the first round by the Spaniard Rebeka Masarova (N.71), 6-4, 6-4.
After a strong start to the match (4-1), Maria Sakkari gave up five games in a row, betrayed by her serve, while Rebeka Masarova was more regular, breaking her opponent again in the seventh game of the second set.
This is the third elimination in a row in the first round in a grand slam for the Greek, finalist at Roland-Garros and at the United States Open in 2021.
In the second round, Rebeka Masarova will face the winner of the match between Slovak Ana Karolina Schmiedlova and Ukrainian Kateryna Baindl.