Iga Swiatek to play british Emma Raducanu in the third round at the Australian Open after she eased past Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova 6-0, 6-2 in the second round.
Swiatek has now won her last 40 matches in the first two rounds at a Grand Slam. Her opening set over Sramkova is her 24th 6-0 set at a Grand Slam since the start of 2020. Aryna Sabalenka is the next best over that span with nine.
After coming through a physically grueling week at the United Cup, where she led Poland back to the finals with great wins over Karolina Muchova, Katie Boulter and Elena Rybakina, Swiatek has enjoyed a smooth ride so far at Melbourne Park.
She started her week with a 6-3, 6-4 win over doubles No.1 Katerina Siniakova. On Thursday, she needed just an hour to power past Sramkova. In relatively mild and breezy conditions, Swiatek struck 16 winners to 14 unforced errors and did not face a break point. She dominated off the ground, winning 20 of the 26 rallies that lasted five shots or more.
Swiatek will take on 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the third round. Raducanu came through a tough second-round draw against Amanda Anisimova, coming from a break down in both sets to seal a 6-3, 7-5 win and make the third round at Melbourne Park for the first time.
Anisimova will rue her chances in her first meeting against her friend. The American was two points from a 4-1 lead in the first set before losing five consecutive games. She burst out to a 3-0 lead in the second set but, again, could not protect her advantage.
Raducanu needed a medical timeout in the second set but hopes the discomfort she felt is the natural consequence of playing her first string of matches since the end of last season.
“I think it’s almost to be expected when you haven’t played a match in so long,” Raducanu said, “and then to have two really physical ones, yeah, I think small niggles are going to come up here and there. I’m just hoping that it is that. I was able to push past some pain today, but yeah, I’m going to just try and recover as best as possible over the next day.”
Swiatek is undefeated against No.61 Raducanu, winning all three meetings without losing a set. Their last clash came on the clay at Stuttgart last year. Swiatek won 7-6(2), 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
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