Swiatek battles past Putintseva in Ostrava

The result might indicate a fairly easy victory for Swiatek however the win was anything but easy. Putintseva is a very fierce fighter and today she did the same. Swiatek did start off really well taking an early 3-0 lead with some stellar shot-making however the plyer from Kazakhstan battled back to make it 3-3. A few good games followed with Swiatek finally cracking the code at 5-4 to her to close out the opening set with 6-4.

Swiatek played fairly well across the board but she was able to attack Putintseva on her serve which is not her strongest suit. Both employed similar styles of play in the next set as well and Putintseva was able to fend off Swiatek early on holding her serve.

The Polish player had a great chance at 3-2 when she had 0-40 but Putintseva held on. The crucial moment came at 4-4 when Putintseva carved out break points that would swing the game upside down but Iga was stellar saving both. That missed chance affected Putintseva deeply and her game fell apart in the next game with Iga closing it out with 6-4.

A very hard-fought win for Swiatek who needed almost two hours to close out the match in two games. A good win to build confidence at a very strong event in Ostrava.