Iga Swiatek will start her US Open title defence against Rebecca Peterson, and it should be a decent challenge for the Polish player.
Iga Swiatek is the defending champion in New York, having beaten Ons Jabeur in the final last year. It was a great conclusion to a year that saw her lift many trophies, something which we haven't seen from her this year. She's been great and dominant but not on the same level as last year.
Even recently, Swiatek found herself losing to a player that she never lost to before; she actually never dropped a set against Gauff before. That's kind of how her season is going. She's great but still beatable. Rebecca Peterson will also try to beat her, but it doesn't seem likely that she will.
It's been a good year for her, especially on hard courts but staying with Swiatek in rallies takes a huge effort, one that likely won't come. Swiatek will have an added pressure which might be a factor.
Head-to-head:
They played twice so far on the WTA Tour, and each time, Swiatek proved better. On hard courts, it was a 6-2 6-1 for the Polish player last year in Australia. One year earlier at Roland Garros, the same thing, just fewer games, 6-1, 6-1. That's not a good indicator for Peterson.
Prediction:
Obviously, Swiatek is the better player capable of hitting the higher level. She's expected to win and win easily but there is a chance that she might run into problems. Peterson likes to extend the rallies and wait for her chance but that's not going to work against Swiatek.
She's likely going to 'go for it' before the rallies go to 10-15 shots, and the best way you beat her is to do what Rybakina, Sabalenka, and others did - attack her. I don't see that happening, so I don't see her winning.
Prediction: Iga Swiatek to win in two sets.
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