Swiatek's dominance, Volynets' upset among top Week 1 moments

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WTA/Jimmie48

MELBOURNE, Australia -- We're a week into the Australian Open, and we've had our share of great matches, notable upsets and all-around stellar performances. Here are our top moments from the first six days, starting with who else but top-ranked Iga Swiatek

Best Performance

Iga Swiatek

View Profile def. Cristina Bucsa

View Profile , 6-0, 6-1, Third Round

It took the World No.1 just 55 minutes to book her ticket for the second week of the tournament, playing her cleanest and best match of the week. Swiatek hit just six unforced errors in the match along with 15 winners.

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Australian Open: Swiatek drops one game vs. Bucsa

Honorable Mentions: Diana Shnaider

's memorable performance in her first-round 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 loss to ; 's disciplined 7-5, 6-4 win over Petra Kvitova; 's 59-minute masterclass in her first round over Jaqueline Cristian, 6-0, 6-1.

Best Match

Caroline Garcia

View Profile d. Laura Siegemund

View Profile , 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, Third Round

From the rocking atmosphere on Kia Arena to the fiery contrast of styles, Garcia and Siegemund delivered a dramatic 2 hour and 3 minute tug-o-war with a spot in the Round of 16 on the line.

Honorable Mentions: Danielle Collins

' second-round win over , 6-7(1), 6-2, 7-6[6]; Zhu Lin's comeback from a break down in the third to beat 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-4; 's match-point saving win over , 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-4.

Biggest Upset

[Q] Katie Volynets

View Profile d. [9] Veronika Kudermetova

View Profile , 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, Second Round

Ranked No.113 and having come through qualifying, the 21-year-old from California had never faced a Top 10 player before. In fact, the highest-ranked player she had ever played was a 15th-ranked Bianca Andreescu

during the Canadian's 2019 US Open title run. But you wouldn't have known it watching Volynets handle the 9th seed to make the third round of a Slam for the first time.

Day 6 from the Australian Open

Honorable Mentions: Bernarda Pera

's stunning 6-4, 6-4 win over No.29 Zheng Qinwen; Aussie wild card 's 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 win over No.31 Kaia Kanepi; 's 54-minute win over No.8 , 6-1, 6-1.

Best Seed-Slayer

No.83 Zhu Lin

The 28-year-old from China had never made the third round of a Slam before. But in her 28th Slam main draw appearance, she posted stunning wins over 32nd-seeded Jil Teichmann

, 6-2, 6-2, in the second round, before earning her first Top 10 win over No.6 , 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-4 in the third round.

Hottest Hand

No.3 Jessica Pegula

View Profile

In the loaded top half of the draw, four players have advanced to the fourth round without losing a set: Iga Swiatek

, , , and . But Pegula has been the most efficient of them all, losing just 11 games and spending a measly 3 hours and 35 minutes on court. Two of her six sets have been 6-0 sets.

Best Value

No.13 Danielle Collins

View Profile

The 2022 finalist bowed out in the third round, but Collins was the left it on the court in each of her three matches. She played two of the three longest matches of the first week, spending a total of 8 hours and 3 minutes on court. It all began with a 3 hour and 3 minute grind with Anna Kalinskaya

, winning 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.

Then came a 6-7(1), 6-2, 7-6(6) win over Karolina Muchova

, which saw her mistakenly celebrate a match point in the decisive tiebreak. In an Adelaide rematch against Wimbledon champion , Collins lost out 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 in 2 hours and 5 minutes.

Best Shot

SHOT 👏 OF 👏 THE 👏 DAY 👏

Take a bow, @MagdaLinette! @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/ikQKpPFioT
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2023

Best Quote

Q. Is there any advantage that the spotlight seems to be on other players rather than you, even though you won the most important title in this sport last year?

ELENA RYBAKINA: Well, I guess it's a motivation to win even more.

Most Surprising Serve Stat

No.23 seed Zhang Shuai advanced to the Round of 16 having been broken just twice in the first week, holding in 26 of her 28 service games. That puts her right alongside the tour's biggest servers, Aryna Sabalenka

and , who have also been broken just twice.