Iga Swiatek confirmed her place in the second week of the US Open with an outstanding performance against Anastasia Pavlyuchwnkova, who played her part during an entertaining first set.
The world No. 1 hoped to build on a great display against Ena Shibahara in the last round. She bageled her opponent in the opening set and only dropped one game in a 6-0, 6-1 thrashing.
It was a welcome improvement for Swiatek after a scrappy first-round win against Kamilla Rakhimova. The 2022 US Open champion needed to recover from 3-6 down in the second set tiebreak in that contest.
Pavlyuchenkova lost her previous meeting with Swiatek 0-6, 0-6 at the Italian Open in Rome. The 2021 French Open runner-up competed better in New York, but it was insufficient to threaten an upset.
Swiatek made the best possible start by breaking Pavlyuchenkova in the opening game, who seemed nervous during her first game of the match during the night session on the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
To Pavlyuhenkova's credit, she steadied herself after that and did not get overwhelmed in the first set. She hung in many rallies with the world No.1 and was unafraid to come to the net to pressure Swiatek.
The seventh game of the set was exceptionally high in quality. Both women hit a series of winners during a game with several deuces before Pavlyuchenkova could hold for 3-4 down.
Although Pavlyuchenkova played well in the opening set, her only source of frustration will have been some of her second-serve returns. For example, she had 0-30 on Swiatek's serve at 3-4, but she released the pressure with some misses on the second serve.
Ultimately, Swiatek did not face a break point in the opening set and secured it 6-4 after a thoroughly enjoyable ten games on the Artur Ashe Stadium.
The second set was the opposite of the first. Pavlyuchenkova held her first service game and would have hoped to keep the match competitive after getting into the lead during a set for the first time.
Unfortunately for her, Swiatek's game got even better while the 33-year-old could not sustain the level she had for most of the first set. That meant the set and the match quickly slipped away from her.
Many fans and analysts have viewed Aryna Sabalenka as the US Open favorite, but Swiatek reminded them how good she is on a hard court in the final seven games of the match.
The world No. 1 barely missed a ball with some brutal hitting. Her serve, often seen as the weakest part of Swiatek's game, was flowing and routinely setting up a perfect next ball to attack with her forehand.
After losing five games in a row, Pavlyuchenkova broke the streak and held for 2-5 down. However, that only delayed the inevitable. Swiatek served out a 6-4, 6-2 triumph after not facing a break point during the match.
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