(New York) Defending champion Iga Swiatek failed to shine in the second round of the US Open on Wednesday, but still outscored Australia’s Daria Saville (322nd in the world) 6-3, 6-4.
“It wasn’t easy, the pace of the game was weird, but I’m happy that I managed to stay aggressive and make it through to the third round,” said the Polish, world No.1.
On Friday, she will face the Slovenian Kaja Juvan (145th and qualifying) to try to climb into the round of 16.
Despite a comfortable score, Swiatek was not imperial, notably giving up his face-off three times on the three break points conceded (twice in the first set and once in the second).
But she managed the decisive break to break away 3-2 then 4-2 and kept the advantage until the end, concluding with a service just grazed from the end of the frame by Saville.
The American Coco Gauff, sixth player in the world, qualified for the third round of the United States Open on Wednesday by beating the Russian Mirra Andreeva (63rd), 6-3, 6-2.
The Roland-Garros finalist in 2022 had a serious match, not hesitating to come to the net to make the difference (15 points won).
The youngest player in the tournament (16 years old), Andreeva sought to create a break in the exchange, sometimes successfully, to try to destabilize her opponent, ultimately in vain.
“I didn’t play very well in the first round and today I did a lot cleaner,” Coco Gauff said immediately after her match.
The American comes out of a dazzling summer, marked by victories at the Washington and Cincinnati tournaments, where she beat world number one, Iga Swiatek.
In the third round, Coco Gauff will face the winner of the meeting between the Belgian Elise Mertens and the American Danielle Collins.
