January 15, 2025, 9:02 PM ET
MELBOURNE, Australia — Iga Swiatek cruised through the first set in 26 minutes at the Australian Open and cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Rebecca Slamkova in an hour in the second round.
The five-time Grand Slam champion has made it a habit to advance early in major tournaments. According to tournament broadcasters, she has won 12% of her Grand Slam sets 6-0.
So when No. 49 Slamkova held serve on Thursday to end a seven-game losing streak, she raised her arms to applause from the Rod Laver Arena crowd. It was one of her few chances to celebrate.
Since making her main draw debut in 2019, Swiatek has won 27 bagel sets in her major career, easily the most by a female player over the same period (the next closest are Coco Gauff and Arena・9 sets of Sabalenka).
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Second-seeded Swiatek will next face 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who recovered from an early break in the second set to defeat Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5.
Raducanu has struggled with injuries since breaking through to the majors in 2021, becoming the first Grand Slam singles qualifier.
She did not participate in any warm-up matches for this year’s Australian Open because of the muscle strain, and took time to receive back treatment from a trainer during her match against Anisimova.
After getting past the second round for the first time at Melbourne Park, Raducanu, ranked 61st, was confident he had enough time to recover for his next match against Swiatek.
“It’s going to be a very good match for me and another opportunity to test my game,” she said. Swiatek said: “We’ve already achieved a lot. Now we have nothing to lose. We just have to swing.”
Swiatek is looking to come off a doping violation that led to a one-month suspension last year. And she shows no signs of letting it distract her.
She continued to pace everything in the second round, thanking the crowd after her victory and tapping her racket quickly. Swiatek didn’t have a break point against Sramkova, converting 5 of 6 shots. She rounded out the points with winners from both wings and also hit some clean volleys towards the net.
“It was a really effective match,” Swiatek said. “I’m glad I was able to stay focused. You always have to stay alert and ready.”
Swiatek hasn’t lost beyond the third round of a major tournament since the 2019 U.S. Open, and has played in the third round of a major tournament for 20 consecutive years. She is aiming for her first Australian Open title and sixth Grand Slam title overall.
Also on Thursday, American eighth-seeded Emma Navarro, a 2024 US Open semi-finalist, will face unseeded Wang Shiyu at Margaret Court Arena, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. I won.
In other early matches, No. 9 Daria Kasatkina defeated Wang Yafan 6-2, 6-0, Ons Jabour defeated Camila Osorio 7-5, 6-3 and No. 32 Dayana. – Yastremska won 6-0, 6-1. Defeat Danka Kovinic.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
