Iga Swiatek started her title defence at the 2023 Roland Garros slowly but increased the intensity to beat Cristina Bucsa.
It's never easy to enter the tournament as an overwhelming favourite and that's certainly the Pole's case at the Roland Garros. That's not only because she's the defending champion and the world no. 1, but also because she's the only player in the WTA draw that managed to win it twice in the past.
But Swiatek didn't feel any extra pressure because of the defending champion's stamp, and she even managed to find positives in her disappointing exit in Rome, which was caused by an injury.
In the first round of the tournament, the top seed took on Cristina Bucsa from Spain and the start was really slow. The Spanish player broke first and after Swiatek responded, she broke her yet again.
However, the Pole showed why she's the top favourite and broke back once more and added one more break of serve to win the first set 6-4. After winning the first set, Swiatek knew what are the keys to the win and used them to unlock the gates of the second round.
In the second round, she was the dominant player, winning the set 6-0 and serving her first bagel of the 2023 Roland Garros, something she's known for. In the second round, she will await a qualifier in Ylena In-Albon or Claire Liu. Speaking after the win, she said:
"First rounds are tricky and I don't remember playing in such windy conditions here. But I'm happy that I kind of broke through it. I'm trying not to really come back to [my previous success], because there's really no point, but I know this court really well."
The young Pole isn't the only favourite to win in Paris, despite being the top one for sure. Aryna Sabalenka started with a win, and Elena Rybakina was also victorious in the first round, so the Pole was asked also about them.
"I kinda have my own journey and I will work on my tennis anyway. We're really pushing each other but honestly, I don't really care."
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