Former world number 1 in women's tennis Iga Swiatek gave a powerful start to her participation in the prestigious WTA 1000 tournament China Open in Beijing. The champion of the 2023 competition recorded a clear success in the second round (1/32-final), prevailing over the representative of the hosts Xinyu Gao 6:2, 6:3 in the first official clash between the two at the professional level.
The match on the center court “Diamond Court“ was under the full control of the Polish star, who left no chance to the “wild card“ 244th in the world ranking of the Chinese.
Swiontek imposed an extremely high pace from the very first minutes. In the first set, the Pole made two quick breaks and closed the set in less than 40 minutes at 6:2.
Gao, led by the audience, tried to put up more serious resistance in the second set, but Swiontek's superiority in returns and her high class in long games brought the final 6:3.
With this success, the Polish tennis player secured a check of $ 34,110 from the prize fund and advances to the 1/16 finals. There, fans can expect an exciting duel, as Swiontek's opponent will be the experienced Croatian Donna Vekic.