Iga Swiatek continued her 2024 US Open run with the most dominant performance of the event so far against Ena Shibahara.
'Iga's Bakery' made an appearance in this match because the Polish player won the match with a popular 'bagel' and a 'breadstick'. During the grass-court and hard-court parts of the season, she didn't have so many super-dominant wins, also because her opponents have started to understand her game better.
She has not been trashing opponents as much lately, but in this match, she did. Shibahara is still, for the most part, a doubles player, and that's important context.
The Japanese player has spent the majority of her career playing doubles and has done incredibly well to find herself in the second round of the 2024 US Open in what was her singles Grand Slam debut.
More recently, the Japanese player opted to play singles almost exclusively, and she's been slowly progressing through the ranks. She's nowhere near the top, but at 26, there is still plenty of time for her.
Not being used to some dominant singles players was very obvious in this match. The first set wasn't close. The score shows it wasn't close, but it was actually even less close than that because Shibahara barely won any points.
To be fair to the Japanese player, she also faced an inspired Swiatek, who played a really strong match. The Polish player only had five unforced errors in the opening set, which is a good mark for her.
She also hit the ball close to the lines, especially on return, which put Shibahara under pressure she's not really used to. Most of her singles experience comes from playing smaller events and against lower-ranked competition.
Swiatek is by far the strongest player she's ever faced. The plan was to try and play aggressively. She had to because any time she didn't, the World No. 1 player could just hit a winner.
The plan backfired, as Shibahara totaled 13 unforced errors in the opening set. Her shots weren't very precise, and it only sped up the progression for her opponent, as Swiatek won it 6-0.
Shibahara's best game by far came at the start of the second set when she finally won a game. It almost didn't happen because Swiatek was up 40-15 in that game and nearly broke her serve again.
It was a positive thing for the doubles specialist, but it wasn't enough. It was only one game, and she had to endure eight deuces before she finally won it.
Shibahara's next service game was another one in which she had a chance to win, but she failed, so Swiatek took a 3-1 lead. From there, it was a rather simple cruise to the finish line, as Shibahara really couldn't create much pressure on Swiatek's serve.
The final score was 6-0, 6-1 for the Polish player, who is looking better and better with every match, reaching the third round of the 2024 US Open.
Iga Swiatek vs Ena Shibahara Match Stats:
| Iga Swiatek | Ena Shibahara | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Aces | 0 |
| 0 | Double Faults | 4 |
| 71% | First Serve % | 68% |
| 83% (20/24) | Points Won After First Serve % | 51% (20/39) |
| 80% (8/10) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 22% (4/18) |
| 56% (5/9) | Break Point Conversion | 0% (0/0) |
| 13 | Winners | 9 |
| 6 | Unforced Errors | 28 |
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