World No.1 Iga Swiatek of Poland cruised into the third round of the US Open on Thursday with a 6-0, 6-1 dismissal of Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
US Open: Scores | Draw | Order of play
Swiatek, the 2022 US Open champion and a four-time Roland Garros titlist, needed just 65 minutes to power past 217th-ranked Shibahara in their first singles meeting.
"For sure I used yesterday to practice a little bit and get my rhythm," Swiatek said, leveling up on Thursday after a tricky Tuesday first-round win over Kamilla Rakhimova. "I felt like I can play in a much more solid way, and I was making for sure better decisions [today]."
Next up for Swiatek will be a third-round match against No.25 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who defeated 65th-ranked Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy 5-7, 6-1, 6-2. Swiatek is 1-0 against Pavlyuchenkova, winning 6-0, 6-0 at 2023 Rome.
Here are facts and figures surrounding Swiatek's routine triumph:
19: With the win, Swiatek has made her 19th straight Grand Slam third round appearance. She is the fifth player in the Open Era to reach the Round of 32 in 19 or more consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, joining Martina Navratilova, Stefanie Graf, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez.
20 - Iga Swiatek is the youngest player to win 20 of their first 22 second round appearances in Women’s Singles Grand Slam since Victoria Azarenka in 2012 who won 21 of her first 22 second round appearances. Triumph. #USOpen | @usopen @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/7ikiKfnyOL
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) August 29, 2024
20: Swiatek is now a commanding 20-2 in Grand Slam second-round matches in her career. Her only two losses in the second round of majors were to Camila Giorgi at the 2019 Australian Open and Anastasija Sevastova at the 2019 US Open.
20-0: Swiatek is also a perfect 20-0 against players ranked outside of the Top 100 at Grand Slam events, with eight of those wins coming at the US Open. The 23-year-old is also 7-0 against qualifiers at Grand Slam events (14-0 in sets).
13: After losing seven straight games to start the match, Shibahara got on the board at 1-1 in the second set after battling through a 13-minute service game. Shibahara saved three break points in that game to open her account, but that ended up being the only game she won.
0-5: Shibahara falls to 0-5 against Top 50 opposition, and this was her first career singles match against a player ranked inside the Top 30. But this event was still a career milestone for doubles stalwart Shibahara, who made her Grand Slam debut in singles and battled to a first-round win over Daria Saville.
60: Another victory on Thursday was a step too far for 26-year-old Shibahara, as Swiatek won 60 points in the match to the qualifier's 29. Swiatek won 83 percent of her first-serve points, 80 percent of her second-serve points, and never faced a break point all day.