Three of her four Grand Slam triumphs have come on the French Open clay, with the other on the US Open hard courts, but her attempt to add the Australian Open title this year has been complicated by a tough draw.Īfter beating 2020 champion Sofia Kenin in the first round, she faced another stern test against the uncompromising Collins, a finalist at Melbourne Park in 2022. Swiatek, 22, has emerged as the WTA Tour's dominant player in the past two years, leading the world rankings for most of that time and adding three more majors to her tally. "I wanted to push then, I did that and I'm proud of myself because it wasn't easy." "I knew she played perfectly but it would be hard for anybody to keep that level and I wanted to be ready when mistakes came from the other side. "I wanted to fight until the end," she said. The 42-point tie-break between last year's runner-up and world number 57 Blinkova was the longest in Grand Slam singles history.Īmerican fifth seed Jessica Pegula also fell to a lower-ranked opponent as she was defeated 6-4 6-2 by France's Clara Burel.īurel, ranked 51st in the world, had never previously beaten a top 10 player but won comfortably in 70 minutes to set up a meeting with compatriot Oceane Dodin.Īfter Swiatek avoided an even greater shock by taking her third match point against Collins, the Pole dropped her racquet to the floor before hiding her head underneath a towel. Third seed Elena Rybakina became the highest-ranked casualty in the women's draw so far as she was beaten 6-4 4-6 7-6 (22-20) by Russian Anna Blinkova. "I was in the airport already," said the four-time Grand Slam champion. Swiatek trailed 4-1 but showed fight and composure as Collins wilted to win 6-4 3-6 6-4 in the second round. Top seed Iga Swiatek avoided an early Australian Open exit by overturning a double break deficit in the deciding set to beat Danielle Collins.
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