Swiatek begins defence with easy win

NEW YORK, August 28

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek got her US Open title defence off to a dominant start today, flattening unseeded Swede Rebecca Peterson 6-0 6-1 to kick off the action on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The four-time Grand Slam champion fired off 20 winners and four aces to set up a second-round meeting with Australian Daria Saville.

Swiatek said that her tank was “pretty empty” after losing in the Montreal and Cincinnati semifinals earlier this month but showed no lack of vigour as she opened her US Open campaign with an ace and blazed through the first set.

The Polish player showed only brief signs of vulnerability early in the second set, as she began to accrue more unforced errors and had to claw her way back from triple break point in the first game.

But she reminded the crowd at Flushing Meadows why she has been the world number one since April 2022 as she whacked across an unreturnable backhand shot to break Peterson to love in the fourth game. — Reuters

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