MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Iga Swiatek tends to waste no time in the first week of the Grand Slam.
When the five-time Grand Slam champion eliminated Rebecca Sramkova 6-0, 6-2 in a shutout hour at the Australian Open on Thursday, Swiatek was accustomed to advancing quickly in the early rounds.
She is the only player to reach the third round or better at every Grand Slam this decade. Swiatek has won almost 12% of her Grand Slam sets by 6-0, which puts her in exclusive company.
Read more: Iga Swiatek is still the only tennis player to reach the third round at every Grand Slam this decade
When Sramkova, ranked 49th, ended a seven-game losing streak by holding serve, she raised her arm to acknowledge the applause from the Rod Laver Arena crowd. It was one of the few opportunities she had to celebrate.
-“It was good to play so efficiently and finish quickly,” Swiatek said. “Also, you know, just feel the terrain and how it’s going in RLA. »
Second-seeded Swiatek will next face 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who recovered from an early break in the second set to hold off Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5.
Three-time runner-up and No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev was ousted when 19-year-old American qualifier Learner Tien held on to win 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (8), 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) after almost five hours. Tien had a match point in the third set tiebreaker and didn’t earn another for two hours, until almost 3 a.m. Friday local time.
