Aus Open: Swiatek reaches 24th straight Major third round; Selekhmeteva stuns Badosa

Melbourne: World No. 2 Iga Swiatek registered a 6-2, 6-3 straight-set victory at the Australian Open on Thursday, reaching the third round in her 24th consecutive Grand Slam.

On Monday, Swiatek became the first woman to reach the second round in 25 consecutive Grand Slams, since Svetlana Kuznetsova (26, from 2006-12). She is now the only woman in the Open Era to advance to the third round of any decade’s first 24 majors. Her previous second-round exit came at the 2019 US Open, where she lost to Anastasija Sevastova.

Swiatek broke serve to claim the opening set 6-2. Swiatek’s aggressive baseline play proved too powerful, with her groundstrokes reaching speeds of up to 140 kmph, consistently forcing Bouzkova into defensive positions and wrapping up a dominant performance on John Cain Arena.

The first-set win gave Swiatek complete control, and she closed out the match with a composed hold of serve, securing a 6-3 win in the second set to complete a straight-sets triumph, 6-2, 6-3.

Serving for the match, the second seed showed nerves of steel despite some early tension. After dropping the opening point with an unforced error, Swiatek regained control with powerful serving and aggressive baseline play.

Though Bouzkova saved two match points with gutsy shot-making, Swiatek’s quality proved decisive. A clinical nine-shot rally ended with a forehand winner, sealing her progression to the third round of the Australian Open.

Later, Oksana Selekhmeteva recorded the first Top 30 win of her career and reached the third round at a Grand Slam for the first time after upsetting last year’s semifinalist Paula Badosa at the Australian Open.

Selekhmeteva will next face a Top 20 player for the first time in her career when she takes on No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula in the third round.

Elsewhere, local qualifier Maddison Inglis also advanced to the third round after defeating Laura Siegemund 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-6 (7) in 3 hours and 20 minutes, the second-longest match of the tournament so far.

IANS