Iga Swiatek breezed past Australian qualifier Maddison Inglis 6-0, 6-3 in her most routine victory in this
Australian Open tournament.
She never looked challenged from the start. It was as comfortable as it gets for the Pole who keeps her attention firmly on the possible career Grand Slam. While she has not shown the form yet to lift the title in this competition, this performance showed what she can do, barely giving Inglis a chance.
She dominated the first set, giving the Aussie crowd nothing to cheer about on Rod Laver Arena. It was slightly close in the second set but Inglis never looked like she would trouble the six-time Grand Slam champion.
Swiatek won 83% of first serve points compared to 47% Inglis boasted. Swiatek converted five out of six break points and hit 22 winners compared to Inglis seven.
Swiatek career Grand Slam hunt continues
Inglis was already on the backfoot from the beginning, with Swiatek not relenting. She held to love before narrowly coming out on top to break in the next game. A couple of tight games both again went the way of Swiatek, with Inglis missing her first chance to secure a game enroute to a double-break advantage.
She would seal it up moments later with a third deuce in four games to end the set. Inglis went 40-15 ahead on serve but Swiatek would win four points in a row to wrap up as comfortable set as she has ever played.
Finally, Inglis got on the board at the start of the second set, and it was a break. She lofted her arms in the air as she soaked up the jubilant crowd support. This advantage was instantly extinguished as Swiatek broke back a game later, but it was a nice moment.
This was the start of a four game winning streak which saw her go 4-1 ahead with a double break lead. It felt like the final nail in the coffin for Inglis unbelievable
Australian Open journey, but she was still able to get a couple more games on the board before her tournament would eventually come to an end against the former world number one, with the 24-year-old now looking at an enticing matchup against Elena Rybakina in what is set to be a thrilling quarter-final.
Match Statistics Inglis vs. Swiatek
| Inglis |
VS |
Swiatek |
| 1 |
Aces |
0 |
| 1 |
Double Faults |
1 |
| 65% (32/49) |
1st Service Percentage |
56% (24/43) |
| 47% (15/32) |
1st Service Points Won |
83% (20/24) |
| 35% (7/20) |
2nd Service Points Won |
63% (12/19) |
| 17% (1/6) |
Break Points Saved |
67% (2/3) |
| 29% (2/7) |
Service Games |
88% (7/8) |
| 17% (4/24) |
1st Return Points Won |
53% (17/32) |
| 37% (7/19) |
2nd Return Points Won |
65% (13/20) |