Swiatek delights home fans with easy first round win

Top seed Iga Swiatek advanced to the second round of the Poland Open by winning against Magdalena Frech 6-1, 6-2 at Legia Tenis & Golf in Warsaw on Wednesday afternoon.

The world No 1 is the fifth female player to win 17+ matches in a row on clay courts since 2000 after Serena Williams, Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams.

The last player to defeat Swiatek on clay is Maria Sakkari, who defeated her at Roland-Garros in 2021.

“For sure playing in your hometown with all that crowd is pretty extraordinary,” Swiatek said, according to WTATennis.com. “I didn’t get a chance to play many tournaments in Poland so for sure I needed extra focus and determination to come here and stay in the zone and not let my head think about other stuff.”

Swiatek, ranked No 1, will face Romanian lucky loser Gabriela Lee next.

She improved to 47-4 on the season with her victory. Swiatek also improved to 43-6 lifetime on her favourite surface.

Warsaw WTA 250, other first-round matches (Legia Tenis & Golf, clay, USD 251.750, most recent results first):

• Petra Martic vs. Weronika Falkowska
• Elisabetta Cocciaretto beat Martyna Kubka (WC): 6-2, 6-3
• Sara Errani (Q) beat Arantxa Rus: 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
• Gabriela Lee beat Raluca Georgiana Serban (Q): 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
• Kateryna Baindl (LL) beat Maryna Zanevska (11): 6-3, 6-3
• Kristina Mladenovic beat Anna Bondar (6): 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8)
• Jasmine Paolini (10) beat Danka Kovinic: 6-1, 6-1
• Ana Bogdan beat Nuria Parrizas Diaz (7): 6-4, 7-6 (3)
• Clara Burel beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova: 7-6 (5), 6-1
• Maja Chwalinska (WC) beat Rebeka Masarova (Q): 7-5, 6-2
• Viktorija Golubic beat Arianne Hartono (Q): 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
• Katerina Siniakova beat Jesika Maleckova (Q): 6-2, 6-4
• Laura Pigossi (LL) beat Varvara Gracheva: 6-2, 6-4
• Nadia Podoroska beat Alexandra Ignatik (Q): 6-1, 6-1
• Caroline Garcia (5) beat Misaki Doi: 7-5, 6-4

You might also like this

WTA Rankings: Swiatek continues to lead as weekend winners Begu and Pera rise

tennis majors

Medvedev leads the way, Swiatek’s Ukraine exhibition: What you shouldn’t miss while you’re waiting for the National Bank Open in August

tennis majors