By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, August 30, 2023
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek defeated Daria Saville 6-3, 6-4 scoring her ninth straight US Open win to charge into the third round.
Photo credit: Brad Penner/USTA/US Open
NEW YORK—A friendly feast help Iga Swiatek launch the opening week of the US Open.
Friendly fire awaits the world No. 1 in the US Open third round.
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Swiatek defeated Daria Saville 6-3, 6-4 on Louis Armstrong Stadium to charge into the US Open third round with her ninth straight win in Flushing Meadows.
The victory vaults Swiatek into a US Open third-round encounter with her best friend and former doubles partner Kaja Juvan.
On Court 12, world No. 145 Juvan rallied past American Lauren Davis 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3 in two hours, 36 minutes.
Reigning US Open champion Swiatek didn’t quite replicate the pristine performance she produced in round one powering past Rebecca Peterson, 6-0, 6-1. But the Polish power commanded the center of the court, annihilated Saville’s second serve winning 17 of 18 points played on the Aussie’s second delivery and converted five of six break point chances in a one hour, 34-minute victory.
Swiatek, who must advance one round further than world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka to retain the top spot, raised her 2023 record to a WTA-best 55-9, including a 29-6 mark on hard courts.
“For sure I wanted to be intensive, and mostly I was in charge of what I'm going to kind of play, because I was the one that was attacking,” Swiatek said. “But for sure I made some mistakes because you kind of need to, you know, risk a little bit more.
“But, yeah, for sure it wasn't easy. She was using most of my power to get these balls back. So yeah, I'm just happy at the end I was the one that won.”
Four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek said afterward she’s satisfied moving on and aims to tidy up her tennis a bit in round three after hitting 23 winners against 23 unforced errors today.
Swiatek and Juvan are good friends—the pair partnered to win the 2018 Youth Olympics doubles title—and broke bread together on Monday in Manhattan.
Their first Grand Slam meeting at the 2021 Roland Garros happened to fall on Swiatek’s 20th birthday. The friends shared hugs both before and after the match and likely shared birthday cake the tournament gifted her after the match.
When they meet again on Friday, Swiatek expects a tricky situation, but believes both will be all business during the match and back to good friends afterward.
“We know how to keep it cool and we already played couple of times against each other. Last time in Roland Garros, 2021,” Swiatek said. “You know, I think we both can kind of cut off the off-court friendship and just play our game, and then we are friends back.
“At least there's nothing crazy is going to happen. But for sure she's, yeah, she's my best friend on tour. She's one of the most, like, honest and I think smart people on tour. I'm happy that she's my friend, but yeah, we've got to play against each other. It's a tricky situation, but I think we both know how to be professional and just play the match and that's all.”