The first official match Iga Swiatek played in the new season was the United Cup match against Beatriz Haddad Maia, and it was a victory.
The Brazilian had a solid finish to 2023 by winning the WTA Elite trophy and putting forward her early candidacy to become a Top 10 player in 2024. Another player who had an elite finish to the year was Iga Swiatek, who won the WTA Finals, putting forward her early candidacy for best player in the world.
They met at the United Cup today, and Hadad Maia proved to be no match for Swiatek, which isn't such a huge surprise. Both of them actually played before this match, as the Brazilian was already in action at the United Cup while Swiatek played in Abu Dhabi.
The match itself, at least the start of it was dominated by Swiatek. She was absolutely spectacular controlling play easily. Haddad Maia was able to do some things on her own serve but on return, the Brazilian was virtually non-existent.
6-2 was the score after the first set, as Swiatek controlled the rallies easily. They did play at Roland Garros last year, and Haddad Maia put up a pretty good effort, especially in the second set. This time around, though, Swiatek was able to get an early break in the second set to take a 3-1 lead, and that was basically it.
Haddad Maia tried but really couldn't find a way back into the match as her opponent was too strong. There are really no two ways about it. Swiatek was simply too good for Haddad Maia in this one and finished off the match 6-2 6-2, giving Poland the first point in the tie.
The other singles match is coming up, and then we might see her back in action with Hubert Hurkacz for the doubles.
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