No.1 Swiatek set to extend streak against Kovinic
PARIS: Unstoppable world No.1 Iga Swiatek will bid to extend her winning streak to 31 matches when she faces Danka Kovinic in the third round of the French Open today.
Poland’s Swiatek racked up her 30th successive victory on Thursday as three of the top-10 women’s seeds survived the opening two rounds.
The 2020 French Open champion swept past Alison Riske of the United States 6-0, 6-2 to reach the third round.
Eighth-seeded Karolina Pliskova and Danielle Collins, the ninth seed, joined fellow top-10 players, defending champion Barbora Krejcikova, Maria Sakkari, Ons Jabeur, Anett Kontaveit and former winner Garbine Muguruza in failing to reach the last 32.
Swiatek is on the best streak since Serena Williams’s 34-match winning run in 2013 and goes on to take on Montenegro’s Kovinic for a place in the last 16.
Kovinic defeated Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia 6-3, 7-5.
Against Riske, Swiatek managed to take her record of 6-0 sets in 2022 to a season-leading 15.
“I’m pretty happy to play some solid tennis,” said Swiatek who joins third seed Paula Badosa and seventh-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the last 32.
Swiatek has also now won 44 of the last 45 sets she has played and is undefeated since losing to former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in Dubai in February.
Swiatek has gained a lot of confidence since she became world No.1 following the shock retirement of Australian Ashleigh Barty earlier this year.
“I feel like I’m using my new position to put more pressure on my opponents. I’m pretty happy that I could convert it to a way that is really helpful,” the 20-year-old said.
Simona Halep, the 2018 champion, fell to big-serving Chinese teenager Zheng Qinwen, playing just her second Slam, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Halep admitted after the match that she had suffered a panic attack at the end of the first set.
Zheng said it was her dream to emulate Li Na, China’s first Grand Slam singles champion.
The 19-year-old will next meet Alize Cornet for a place in the last 16.
Eleven years ago, more than 110 million people tuned in from China — including Zheng — to watch Li become the first Asian-born player to win a Grand Slam singles title.
“She’s my idol and I always think about that,” said Zheng, who like Li comes from Wuhan, the city where Covid-19 first emerged in late 2019.
“In that moment I was still a child and then she gave me a dream that, oh, the Asia player, the Chinese player, also can win the Grand Slam and in that moment that I have the dream in my heart that I want to do it like her.”
In yesterday’s action, US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez of Canada beat Olympic champion Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.
Fernandez will next meet American Amanda Anisimova for a place in the quarter-finals.
Anisimova advanced to the fourth round after Czech Karolina Muchova was forced to retire due to an ankle injury when US star was leading 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 3-0.
In the men’s third round, 15th seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina beat 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.