World No.1 Iga Swiatek of Poland cruised into the third round of the US Open on Thursday with a 6-0, 6-1 dismissal of Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Swiatek, the 2022 US Open champion and a four-time Roland Garros titlist, needed just 65 minutes to power past 217th-ranked Shibahara in their first singles meeting.
"For sure I used yesterday to practice a little bit and get my rhythm," Swiatek said, leveling up on Thursday after a tricky Tuesday first-round win over Kamilla Rakhimova. "I felt like I can play in a much more solid way, and I was making for sure better decisions [today]."
Next up for Swiatek will be a third-round match against No.25 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who defeated 65th-ranked Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy 5-7, 6-1, 6-2. Swiatek is 1-0 against Pavlyuchenkova, winning 6-0, 6-0 at 2023 Rome.
19: With the win, Swiatek has made her 19th straight Grand Slam third round appearance. She is the fifth player in the Open Era to reach the Round of 32 in 19 or more consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, joining Martina Navratilova, Stefanie Graf, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez.
20: Swiatek is now a commanding 20-2 in Grand Slam second-round matches in her career. Her only two losses in the second round of majors were to Camila Giorgi at the 2019 Australian Open and Anastasija Sevastova at the 2019 US Open.
20-0: Swiatek is also a perfect 20-0 against players ranked outside of the Top 100 at Grand Slam events, with eight of those wins coming at the US Open. The 23-year-old is also 7-0 against qualifiers at Grand Slam events (14-0 in sets).
Another round, another chance to do better.
And better she did.
Great serving and a clean clinical performance. 6 unforced vs 41 in round 1. It's like night and day.
As Iga herself mentioned she was definitely in the zone today.
Pavlachenkova will be another step up, but we believe.
Jazda!
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