Iga Swiatek has made a winning return to Polish soil by beating Nigina Abduraimova in two sets to get her 2023 Poland Open campaign underway.
The Polish superstar is hoping to win the only WTA event in Poland, as that is the main reason she's playing it. There is a very good chance that she would have been on an extended vacation right now if the event didn't happen this week, but there is no way she misses the only event in Poland.
She was recently in Greece on vacation admitting that she didn't want to leave but there was work to be done, and work was done today in Warsaw. She faced Nigina Abduraimova in the opening round of the Poland Open and proved quite a bit better.
Being back on the hard courts is wonderful for Swiatek, and it's a great preparation for the North American hard court season. Abduraimova put up a good fight in the opening set as Swiatek was slowly playing herself into a good rhythm.
Swiatek was up 4-3 but then got broken for the 4-4 score with Swiatek breaking once more to finally get the opening set done 6-4. The second set proved much simpler for her as she was in a good rhythm by now. Even so, Abduraimova still found solutions at times forcing break points in the second set as well but she couldn't break.
The Polish superstar cruised to a 6-3 finish in the second set for the final score of 6-4 6-3. The match lasted well over an hour, so it was a stern test and probably one that will add to Swiatek's chances moving forward.
Overcoming a competitive one will only give her confidence, and with the backing of the native Polish crowd, there shouldn't be any problems. Up next, either Claire Liu or Yuan Yue.