World No.1 Iga Swiatek admitted that Sophia Kenin did not make life easy for her in the first round of the women’s singles in the Australian Open 2024. On Tuesday, January 16, Swiatek beat Kenin 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 at the Rod Laver Arena and advanced to the second round of the hard-court tournament at Melbourne Park.
Australian Open 2024, Day 3, Live Updates
Kenin, who won the singles title back in 2020, earned an early break in the opening set to push Swiatek on the backfoot right at the beginning. However, Swiatek held her nerve to win the set after it went into a tie-breaker.
Trailing 4-5 in the first set, Swiatek earned a timely break to show why she is amongst the best in the world. Once she found her rhythm, it became harder for Kenin to stop her.
Swiatek mentioned that playing the first match of a Grand Slam wasn’t easy for her, and she had to find her way through.
“Well, I’m really happy. It’s not easy to play the first round, especially the 1st slam of the season. It wasn’t easy at the beginning to find my rhythm,” Swiatek was quoted as saying in the on-court interview.
Swiatek said that Kenin made her work hard for every point, and she felt ‘a bit off’ during the course of the match. The top-ranked player was relieved after she found her rhythm in the second set.
“I felt a bit off, and I feel like Sofia really did everything to keep it that way. Huge respect to her. She won this tournament, so she knows what to do. I’m happy I managed to get my level up in the 2nd set,” she added.
Swiatek is next set to face Danielle Collins, who defeated 3-time Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 on Show Court 2.
