After a short stay in Tokyo, Iga Swiatek ensured her Beijing one lasts longer by winning this week's second match at the 2023 China Open.
The Polish player returned to tennis at the Japan Open, and it wasn't that great of an experience. She was beaten before the final, which we're not really used to. She's not as dominant this year as last year, but we haven't seen her lose early in events often.
She admitted after that she was quite rusty and didn't play on her typical level and it makes sense. She missed quite a bit of time after her US Open exit so this week was always going to be closer to her usual self.
She won the opening match easily and now added another one which can be described as comfortable. She jumped out to a nearly 4-1 lead against Varvara Gracheva but then lost one of those breaks to make it a bit closer. The final game of the set was a bit close as well, but overall, it was a really solid opening set.
The match was suspended in the second set due to some minor rain in Beijing but resumed some 1-2 hours later. Swiatek dominated quickly upon return, probably having had time to really dissect the play of her opponent.
She took a double-break lead and finished it off easily after that. It was a superb performance from Swiatek, far better than anything she showed in Tokyo, which is good to see. She's trending in the right direction after feeling very rusty last week.
The final score was 6-4 6-1 as she set up the Polish derby in the next round against Magda Linette. She'll be the heavy favourite after this display, which looked very similar to what we got from her last year. Let's see if she can keep it up.
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