A relentless Iga Swiatek stayed on track for a maiden Australian Open title as she powered into the second week with a press release victory over Emma Raducanu on Saturday. In battle of former US Open champions, Swiatek simply had the measure of Raducanu as she romped to a 6-1, 6-0 triumph, rattling off 11 consecutive video games from 1-1 in a brutal show. Five-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek hit 24 winners to Raducanu’s 9 on Rod Laver Arena. “I played a few shots that I thought after them, this is what I practise for to play these kind of shots, and that’s why I really enjoyed today’s match,” stated Swiatek, who was at occasions untouchable, committing simply 12 unforced errors.
“I felt really confident, so at the end I could push for even more.
“Having transformed all these break factors as properly was vital, so I’m actually proud of as we speak’s efficiency.”
It was the first time that Raducanu, the 2021 Flushing Meadows winner, had reached the third round in Melbourne.
Swiatek, the 2022 champion in New York, is looking to improve on a patchy record at the Australian Open, where she has only reached one semi-final in 2022.
She is on course to do that in some style, having dropped just 10 games in her three matches so far.
She put the 22-year-old Raducanu under severe pressure from the start, forcing the Briton to save break points in her first service game.
It was to be the only game Raducanu won as the 23-year-old Pole took control, her depth, power and precision enabling her to reel off five straight games to take the set in 31 minutes.
Raducanu was feeling the heat and dropped her serve again at the start of the second.
At 0-5 30-0 on the Swiatek serve Raducanu had a brief glimmer of avoiding a dreaded 6-0 “bagel”.
But Swiatek snuffed out the prospect, levelled at 30-30 with a forehand winner and an unreturned serve accomplished the demolition job in simply 1hr 10min.
Ranked 61, Raducanu’s greatest Slam effort since successful the US Open has been a lone fourth-round at Wimbledon.
She pulled out of her Australian Open warm-up occasion in Auckland with a again niggle and wanted an harm timeout for a good leg muscle within the earlier spherical.
Swiatek’s path to a maiden Grand Slam ultimate is opening up.
With the in-form Coco Gauff and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka within the different half of the draw a possible semi-final towards Elena Rybakina looms as her greatest hurdle.
Swiatek has a straightforward-looking task subsequent towards both Eva Lys from Germany, ranked 128, or Romania’s world quantity 82 Jaqueline Christian for a spot within the quarter-finals.
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