Defending champion Iga Swiatek did not shine in the second round of the US Open on Wednesday but still dominated Australian Daria Saville (322nd in the world) 6-3, 6-4.
“It wasn’t easy, the pace of the match was weird, but I’m happy to have managed to stay aggressive and get through to the third round,” said the Polish, world No.1.
On Friday, she will face the Slovenian Kaja Juvan (145th and qualifying) to try to climb into the round of 16.
Despite a comfortable score, Swiatek was not imperial, notably yielding three times his face-off on the three break points conceded (twice in the first set and once in the second).
But she managed the decisive break to break away 3-2 then 4-2 and kept the advantage until the end, concluding with a service just grazed from the end of the frame by Saville.