Iga Swiatek joked Frances Tiafoe told her not to be too quick in her US Open first-round match because he would not have time to properly warm up for his opener at Flushing Meadows. On Monday, world No 1 Swiatek made a lightning start to her US Open title defense with a 6-0 6-1 win over Rebecca Peterson on Arthur Ashe Stadium. It took Swiatek 58 minutes to complete a very dominant straight-set win over Peterson. After Swiatek, Tiafoe also handled the business on Arthur Ashe Stadium, beating Learner Tien 6-2 7-5 6-1.
Swiatek jokingly reveals Tiafoe’s message
“Well, Frances told me yesterday, actually, not to make it too quick because he doesn’t have time to warm up or do other stuff. I’m just kidding. I wanted to play solid and start the tournament with everything that I kinda focused on when I was practicing here for the whole week, so I’m happy that I could play such a great game and I just feel happy that I, with all the pressure and expectations, I can just have fun on court. I just try to kind of remind myself that I want to develop as a player and that’s the most important thing to me. You know, all the numbers and stuff don’t really matter. I am trying to follow that and to just play my game no matter what,” Swiatek said after her first-round win at the US Open. After crushing Peterson, Swiatek is set to play next against Daria Saville. When Swiatek and Saville meet, it will be their second meeting. Last year, Swiatek gave Saville a straight-set defeat in Adelaide. Going into their US Open match, Swiatek is the absolute favorite to end on the winning side. It remains to be seen if Swiatek can clinch another routine win when she meets Saville in the US Open second round.