Iga Swiatek navigated a very close match against Karolina Pliskova well to advance to the next round of the Canadian Open.
Swiatek and Pliskova played some rather iconic matches in the past. We all remember the 6-0 6-0 Italian Open trashing that took around 40-something minutes. Some of you might even remember their match from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix earlier this year which went quite differently as it was a 3-set match.
This one was more like that Stuttgart one as opposed to the bagel bonanza from Rome, as it was very close. It was so close that Swiatek needed a tiebreak to win the opening set, something that doesn't really happen that often in her matches even though some of the most recent wins regularly feature tiebreaks.
The Polish player didn't struggle to break her opponent, she actually did it twice in the opening set. The problem was that she lost her serve two times as well. Ultimately the matter was settled in a very close tiebreak.
Swiatek was mostly on top for much of it and eventually sealed the deal 8-6. After taking that set, Swiatek looked way calmer on the court and opened the second set with a super-quick 3-0 barrage that ultimately finished off the match. Pliskova tried but she couldn't really create something which allowed her opponent to cruise to the finish line.
It was a pretty decent showing from the Polish player though she did struggle with her control at times. It's nothing unusual as the conditions can be quite windy in Montreal and it will take her a while to get used to that. Despite the score indicating a close match it never seemed out of control for the top-ranked player in the world.
The final score was 7-6(6), 6-2 for Swiatek who moves on to the next round to face either Karolina Muchova or Sorana Cirstea. Swiatek is on a 6-match winning streak dating back to the Poland Open triumph
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