By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Monday, January 13, 2025
Iga Swiatek pulled the plug on Wimbledon doubles champion Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-4 to roll into the Australian Open second round.
Photo credit: Graham Denholm/Getty
Sporting blue headphones, Iga Swiatek rocked to AC/DC as she walked onto John Cain Arena today.
Riding her high voltage forehand, Swiatek pulled the plug on Wimbledon doubles champion Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-4 to roll into the Australian Open second round.
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The reigning Roland Garros champion won five of her 12 games at love, improving to 5-1 on the season.
“For sure it wasn’t an easy first round so I’m happy I’m through,” Swiatek said in her on-court interview. “I know her from playing doubles with her—she’s not an easy opponent.
“I felt like she was playing really well and I just needed to be proactive when I wanted to.”
The second-seeded Swiatek will play Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova in round two. Sramkova stopped American Katie Volynets 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Swiatek converted four of five break points and was decisive at crunch time in both sets, frequently firing her heavy forehand into Siniakova’s forehand.
Twenty minutes into the match, Siniakova sent a backhand beyond the baseline then flattened a forehand into net as Swiatek scored first-break blood for 4-2.
Heavy topspin drives from Swiatek not only battered some forehand errors from the former AO doubles champion, at times Siniakova ran around her forehand to strike backhands.
A scrappy Siniakova came back from 40-love down in the following game belting backhands off the baseline and drawing a forehand error to break back in the seventh game.
The world No. 46 was serving with new balls, but Swiatek was calling the shots in the eighth game. Punishing a series of forehands, Swiatek scored the third straight break for a 5-3 lead.
A flurry of forehands helped Swiatek close the first set in 38 minutes as Polish fans waved red-and-white flags in celebration.
Empowered by that one-set lead, Swiatek scraped out a low return drawing the error to start the second set with her second break.
Spinning shoulder high forehands, Swiatek was quick stepping into the court to cut off angles. From inside the baseline, Swiatek slammed a two-hander down the line backing up the break with a love hold for 2-0.
Though Siniakova’s backhand is her kill shot, she measured a forehand returned and crackled it crosscourt for a clean winner capping a break back game for 2-all.
The two-time AO doubles champion drilled her first ace capping her third straight game for 3-2 and shifting pressure back on Swiatek’s shoulders.

Facing a one-set, 0-2 deficit, Siniakova began to red-line her game and rap drives down the line.
Swiatek stopped her slide drawing a wild forehand error to hold.
“Yep!” Swiatek shouted after slashing a forehand winner in the corner for a love-30 lead in the seventh game.
Credit Swiatek for showing patience—and getting back to basics—by pounding away at the Siniakova forehand wing. Swiatek drew three forehand errors to break for a 4-3 second-set lead.
Speeding through fourth love hold of the day, Swiatek stretched her lead to 5-3.
The five-time Grand Slam champion completed a quality one hour, 21-minute win with another love hold—then sent a message of love to west coast fans.
“Sending my love to Malibu and LA,” Swiatek wrote on the court-side camera lens.