New York City — Defending champion Iga Swiatek showed why she's the queen of the court, breezing past Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara with a resounding 6-0, 6-1 victory at the U.S. Open on Thursday. 🎾🔥
The Polish sensation wasted no time, serving with pinpoint accuracy and overpowering her opponent in just over an hour. \"I just felt the rhythm much better,\" Swiatek said with a smile. \"Today I just wanted to focus on the right things and focus on myself.\"
Shibahara, playing in her first singles Grand Slam main draw, fought valiantly to avoid a dreaded double bagel, holding serve in a marathon game to make it 1-1 in the second set. But that was as far as she could go, as Swiatek clicked into overdrive, winning the next five games in a row. 🏃♀️💨
\"Sometimes when the match goes pretty quick, your mind can drift off and you feel too safe,\" Swiatek, 23, admitted. \"I was just trying to stay in the zone.\"
With this win, Swiatek underlines her title credentials and moves confidently into the third round, where she'll face either Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or Elisabetta Cocciaretto. 🏆
On the flip side, China's Wang Xinyu was edged out by Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva, falling 1-6, 6-7(4) in a close contest. Tough luck, Wang! Next time! 💪
Reference(s):
Clinical Swiatek cruises past qualifier Shibahara to reach third round
cgtn.com
