Swiatek off to flying start in Fort Worth – world No 1 eases past Kasatkina in straights

It was business as usual for Iga Swiatek on Tuesday in Fort Worth as the world No 1 kicked off her second appearance at the WTA Finals – domination being the central theme.

The Pole tilted the court against Kasatkina from start to finish, notching a lopsided 6-2, 6-3 victory to move to the top of the Tracy Austin group. By doing so Swiatek improves to 5-1 against the Russian – she has won all five of the matches they have contested in 2022 and not dropped more than three games in a single set.

Swiatek – Still getting used to the conditions

After the victory – her 65th of the season against just eight losses – swiatek talked about her tennis and how she is getting used to the conditions in Fort Worth.

“I felt like I can really play aggressively,” she said. “But on the other hand with these balls here, you have to really be careful. So I have to balance it – I think I did pretty well at the beginning. So then it gave me confidence for the rest of the match.

“I’m happy that [I] got used to the conditions pretty quickly.”

Swiatek pumped in 24 winners against just five for Kasatakina, and she never surrendered a break, saving all three break points she faced.

“I think I started pretty well and that gave me a lot of confidence,” Swiatek said. “So I went to play aggressively but on the other hand, you have to be careful and really patient against Dasha. I wanted to play in a solid way but with pressure on my opponent and I did pretty well. I’m happy about it.”

Like New York, but not as fast

The Pole said the conditions in Fort Worth are quick, but not as quick as at the US Open.

“It’s pretty fast. So I can compare it a little bit to the US Open but it’s not that fast,” she said. “The balls are the same as in the US Open, so I’m kind of using my experience from the tournament.”

Serving with authority

It was a strong serving performance against Kasatkina, who entered the WTA Finals ranked second in percentage of return games won. Swiatek shut her down by winning over 80 percent of her first serve points.

“I just really want my serve to be solid and I know that I’m not that kind of player, who’s gonna make points just from serving – I’m not Isner,” Swiatek said. “But I know that I can open up the court and play with rally and then finish on from the baseline.”

Dominating the best in women’s tennis:

Swiatek stretches her current run of consecutive wins against the top-10 to 13 victories. The only top-10 player she has lost to in 2022 has already retired (Ash Barty at Adelaide).

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