Seventh-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland had the briefest of slow starts, but she quickly put it into overdrive and overwhelmed Colombia’s Emiliana Arango 6-3, 6-0 to open her Cincinnati Open title defense Sunday in Mason, Ohio.
The world’s No. 5 player had to adjust to different playing conditions on a short turnaround from her championship run at the National Bank Open in Toronto, which didn’t end until Thursday.
Swiatek endured 17 unforced errors in the first set, but she settled down and only recorded four in the second set.
But Swiatek scored her seventh straight match win with a 72-minute victory, winning seven of eight service games and five of seven return games in the romp.
“I’m happy that I was patient and came back in the second set knowing what to improve,” Swiatek said.
She’ll face Greece’s Maria Sakkari in the round of 32.
Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, seeded second, had nearly as easy a time with American Taylor Townsend, winning 6-3, 6-4.
Rybakina was dominant on second serves, winning 23 of her 32 points there (71.9%).
Fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva of Russia also coasted, downing Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 6-0 in 64 minutes. Andreeva saved all seven break points she faced.
Other early Sunday winners included Americans Ann Li and Madison Keys, Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova and Sara Bejlek, Indonesia’s Janice Tjen and China’s Xinyu Wang.
2024 Cincinnati Open winner Aryna Sabalenka and 2023 champion Coco Gauff begin their tournaments later Sunday.
–Field Level Media
