US Open champion Iga Swiatek helped herself to a New York bagel to get her US Open title defence off to the right begin – after which she revealed what she lived throygh as a near-death expertise when she was simply seven.
The 22-year-old from Poland dropped simply eight factors as she took the primary set to like towards Rebecca Peterson.
Sweden’s Peterson did get on the board early within the second however Swiatek, bidding for a fifth Grand Slam title, accomplished a complete 6-0 6-1 victory in simply 58 minutes.
“I actually wished to play stable and begin the match with all the pieces I practised on,” she stated.
“I’m joyful to play such an ideal sport and regardless of all of the stress and expectation, I can nonetheless have enjoyable on the courtroom.
“I’m joyful this was such a pleasant first spherical as a result of they are often difficult. You don’t have time to regulate to the courtroom and get used to all the pieces and generally you’re feeling just a little extra stress.
“You will get distracted extra simply and after I performed my first matches on the US Open, I all the time felt there was quite a bit occurring and you will get distracted, however I didn’t really feel that this time.”
Swiatek then took half in an attractive press convention when she was requested in regards to the help she is receiving from snowboarding greats Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn, earlier than she was requested whether or not she was a fan of the winter sport and supplied up this stunning reply.
“Oh my God, the final time I skied was after I was seven and I had an accident that I might have died, so I actually received scared,” she stated.
“I don’t get scared that simply, however for positive stopped me. I’m unhappy that no I’m a professional I don’t have time to do sports activities like that and I want I might.
“This was a traumatic expertise for me after I was younger, so it was clever to cease. When you’re fearful of such sports activities that you simply want greater adrenaline, it is advisable be targeted and prepared, it may be fairly harmful.
“I really feel like our sports activities are linked. This can be a sport the place girls have the identical occasions and rhythm as the blokes and after I hear interviews with Mikaela, it feels I’m kinda the identical. It’s good to have somebody you possibly can look as much as who shares the identical expertise.”
It was an attention-grabbing trade with a participant who’s all the time an attention-grabbing interview topic, although the sporting public outdoors of the tennis world wrestle to embrace a match like Swiatek’s one-sided contest on Monday.
Whereas it appears harsh to recommend Swiatek’s win was something lower than a masterclass in effectivity, complete victories of this nature depart the viewers feeling just a little chilly.
The French Open champion is just too sturdy for nearly each participant within the girls’s draw, with the dimensions of her domination failing to focus on the total vary of her abilities.
Which will clarify why Swiatek has but to make a giant reference to some sports activities followers regardless of her place because the world No 1, together with her class on the courtroom arduous to understand when the opposition is so systematically torn aside.
Sport must be aggressive to maintain an viewers engaged and Swiatek’s tendency to win units with out dropping a sport and barely shedding any factors makes the spectacle just a little arduous to embrace.
There was an early upset on day one at Flushing Meadows with eighth seed Maria Sakkari from Greece bowing out 6-4 6-4 to Spanish world quantity 71 Rebeka Masarova.
Fourth seed Elena Rybakina, final 12 months’s Wimbledon champion, had no such bother, dispatching Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-1.
Victoria Azarenka, a three-time finalist, beat Fiona Ferro 6-1 6-2 and Czech tenth seed Karolina Muchova sank Storm Hunter of Australia 6-4 6-0.
READ MORE: WTA battle for No 1 rating: What Aryna Sabalenka must do at US Open to interchange Iga Swiatek at No 1
