World No.1 Iga Swiatek opened her San Diego Open campaign with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 victory over No.28 Zheng Qinwen.
The Polish star will face No.8 Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals on Friday. Playing her first match since the Ostrava final, Swiatek survived both the rainy conditions and Zheng’s heavy power-hitting game to earn her tour-leading 61st win of the year. San Diego will be her 12th quarterfinal of the season, also a tour-leading mark.
With strong baseline play, absorbing Zheng’s fast pace, and courtcraft to create space on the court, Swiatek won the first set. Zheng won the second set to tie the match at a set apiece.
At 1-0 in the third set, Zheng was awarded a breakpoint, but Swiatek saved it with just her second ace of the match. To take the lead 2-1, Swiatek continued to hold and broke Zheng for the first time since the first set. Swiatek broke again once she had the advantage and handled her serve to secure the victory.
“Qinwen, has a different game style because she’s playing topspin on her forehand and the ball is flying pretty high. So today I had to adjust to that. But overall, the first matches of any tournament is about adjusting to the conditions we have here,” WTA.com quoted Swiatek as saying.
On the other hand, Gauff came through a tough battle against Bianca Andreescu, coming back from a breakdown in the third set to win 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
