Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek is off to a fast start in her attempt to win back-to-back Grand Slams, as the No. 2 seed from Poland beat Colombia’s Emiliana Arango 6-1, 6-2 in an hour flat at the U.S. Open on Tuesday in New York.
Swiatek routed Arango by winning 23 of her 26 first-service points (88.5 percent) and amassing a 26-5 edge in total winners. The six-time Grand Slam champion never faced break point.
“It felt great — first matches are not easy to get used to the rhythm,” Swiatek said, per the Guardian. “It was a solid match. I am happy I wasn’t trying to overpower.”
Swiatek also broke an Open Era record set by Monica Seles, as she won her 65th tour-level opening match in a row. She hasn’t lost in the opening round since the 2021 WTA Finals.
Swiatek, who won the U.S. Open in 2022, climbed to No. 2 in the world rankings this summer thanks to her first Wimbledon title and her WTA 1000 victory last week in Cincinnati.
Amanda Anisimova lost the Wimbledon final to Swiatek in a disastrous 0-6, 0-6 showing. The eighth seed this week in New York, the American kicked off her tournament with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Australia’s Kimberly Birrell.
“It’s not easy playing in the first round of a Grand Slam,” Anisimova said. “I was nervous but I was just trying to have a little fun out there. I’m happy to be back.
“I lost in the first round last year so I’m just happy that I’m doing better than then.”
The only seeded players to be upset before evening on the East Coast were No. 20 Diana Shnaider of Russia and No. 26 Sofia Kenin.
Germany’s Laura Siegemund posted a 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3 win over Shnaider while Ashlyn Krueger rallied for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 result over fellow American Kenin.
Russian No. 13 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova 6-4, 6-1; Brazilian No. 18 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia outlasted Great Britain’s Sonay Kartal 6-3, 1-6, 6-1; and Czech No. 21 seed Linda Noskova was a 6-4, 7-5 winner over Hungary’s Dalma Galfi. No. 27 Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine also advanced, 6-4, 6-4 past Brit Katie Boulter.
Other winners included China’s Xinyu Wang, the Netherlands’ Suzan Lamens, Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, Germany’s Eva Lys, Australian Maya Joint and Romanian Jaqueline Cristian.
Two former champions took the court in the night session and both prevailed, although under very different circumstances.
No. 23 Japan’s Naomi Osaka, the 2018 and 2020 champion, cruised past Belgium’s Greet Minnen, 6-3, 6-4, in 1 hour, 23 minutes.
But third-seeded Coco Gauff took 2 hours and 57 minutes to slog past Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5.
The 2023 champion led 4-2, in the second set, but was broken twice and the Aussie, who defeated Serena Williams in her final U.S. Open match in 2022, prevailed easily in the tie-breaker.
There were five service breaks in the deciding set, the final one occurring at 5-5, when Tomljanovic lost the final two points of her service game. To her credit, Gauff fell behind, 15-30, but reeled off four straight points and won the match on her first attempt.
Gauff, who has struggled tremendously with her serve and even replaced her coach one week ago, committed 10 double faults, but also recorded 59 unforced errors. Tomljanovic was responsible for 56 unforced errors, but only produced 12 winners, compared to 29 for Gauff.
Conversely, Osaka served seven aces and no double faults and won all six break point chances she earned against Minnen.
“I think, honestly, I could have had a better attitude,” said Osaka. “Like, I was very stressed. It was the first round, and this tournament means a lot to me. I really wanted to win.”
Croatia’s Donna Vekic and Russia’s Anastasia Zakharova also won under the lights on Day 2 of the tournament.
–Field Level Media
