The Polish Iga Swiatek, world No.2, and the American Jessica Pegula (4th in the world) qualified on Wednesday for the quarter-finals of the WTA 500 tournament in Tokyo, while awaiting the French Caroline Garcia who enters the competition on Thursday.
Swiatek, two-time reigning winner of Roland Garros, won in the second round against Japanese Mai Hontama 6-4, 7-5 in a match that was closer than the score suggests.
“I didn’t really start well (…) but I’m happy to have won five games in a row because it shows that I can play my tennis,” said Swiatek, 22, after her victory. Hontama, she explained, was “difficult to play” because “she was fighting on every ball.”
The Japanese admitted to needing “more physical training” and “to improve (her) technique” against an opponent of the Polish caliber.
Swiatek will meet Russian Veronika Kudermetova (19th) in the quarter-finals, victorious over American Kayla Day (6-3, 6-3).
Jessica Pegula, for her part, had an easier match against the Spaniard Cristina Bucsa, beaten 6-1, 6-2.
“Today I played a solid match,” explained the 29-year-old American. “I struggled with my first serve in the first set, but I returned very well and was able to play the shots I wanted.” She will face the winner of the match between the Russian Daria Kasatkina and the Greek Despina Papamichail.
The Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, back in the Top 10 this week, faces the Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina, 28th in the world, on Thursday for her entry into the second round. The world No.10, who arrived in Tokyo directly from Mexico where she reached the semi-finals of the Guadalaraja tournament, explained that she was going to “try to adjust to the conditions” in Japan.
Kalinina soundly defeated in the first round (6-3, 6-1) the young American Ashlyn Krueger, recent winner of the WTA 250 tournament in Osaka.
The Kazakh Elena Rybakina, world No.5 and finalist at the Australian Open in January, finally gave up on traveling to the archipelago, explaining that she wanted to “prioritize (her) health and (her) physical form” .