Iga Swiatek moves in a 3rd-round match against Raducanu at the Australian Open

By Canadian Press on January 15, 2025.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Iga Swiatek rushed through her first set in 26 minutes and completed her 6-0, 6-2 second-round win over Rebecca Sramkova in an hour at the Australian Open.

The five-time Grand Slam champion makes a habit of advancing quickly through the early rounds at the majors. She’s won 12% of her sets in Grand Slams by 6-0, according to the tournament broadcaster.

So when No. 49-ranked Sramkova ended a seven-game losing run by holding serve on Thursday, she raised her arm to acknowledge the applause from the Rod Laver Arena crowd. It was one of the few chances she had to celebrate.

Second-seeded Swiatek next faces 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu, who recovered from an early break in the second set to hold off Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5.

Raducanu has struggled with injuries since her breakthrough major in 2021, when she became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam singles title.

She didn’t play a warmup tournament ahead of this year’s Australian Open because of a muscle strain and needed time during her match against Anisimova to get treatment on her back from a trainer.

After advancing beyond the second round for the first time at Melbourne Park, the No. 61-ranked Raducanu was confident she’d have enough time to recover ahead of her next challenge against Swiatek.

“It’ll be a very good match for me, another opportunity to test my game,” she said. Swiatek has “achieved so much already. Going into it, I have nothing to lose. I’m just going to swing.”

Swiatek is moving on from the doping infringement which led to her one-month ban last year. And she’s not showing any signs of it being a distraction.

She did everything at pace in the second round, including quick claps of her racket to acknowledge the crowd after her win. Swiatek didn’t face a break point against Sramkova and converted five of the six she had. She finished off points with winners off both wings, and also hit some clean volleys on her ventures to the net.

“It was a really efficient game,” Swiatek said. “I’m happy I kept my focus. You always have to be on your toes and be ready.”

In other early matches, No. 9 Daria Kasatkina advanced 6-2, 6-0 over Wang Yafan, Ons Jabeur beat Camila Osorio 7-5, 6-3 and No. 32 Dayana Yastremska raced to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Danka Kovinic.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

The Associated Press