There was, typically, not a hint of complacency from Iga Swiatek as she looked ahead to the defence of her Qatar Open title. Never mind that the Polish world No 1 has won the past two editions of the tournament for the loss of just one set, or that the slower hard courts are more naturally suited to her game than the slicker Plexicushion surface at the Australian Open, where she suffered a shock third-round defeat to Linda Noskova last month.
“It’s a new history, a new tournament,” said Swiatek.
The devastating manner in which the 22-year-old opened her campaign against Sorana Cirstea belied that cautious appraisal, however; in the event it was more a case of same old, same old.
This was Swiatek at her devastating best, striking the ball with power and authority in the baseline exchanges, drilling returns to all corners of the court, and so commanding on serve that she did not face a break point throughout. Dragged from pillar to post, Cirstea competed gamely, but was powerless to avert a 6-1, 6-1 defeat.
It was quite a way for Swiatek to mark the start of her 90th week at the top of the world rankings, a milestone only nine other women have reached since the system was introduced in 1975. The Pole has also now appeared in 37 WTA 1000 matches as world No 1, a record bettered only by Serena Williams. At 22 years old, it is a formidable body of work.
“I forget about it,” said Swiatek, who will face Russian opposition in the next round in the form of either Erika Andreeva or Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 14th seed.
“Now I have actually people in my team reminding me of what I achieved, because I’m so focused on what’s next. I sometimes forget, but it’s pretty crazy and hard to understand, because I wasn’t really thinking when I was younger that it was going to be possible for me.”
Swiatek’s imperious start was in stark contrast to that of fellow grand slam champion Emma Raducanu, who committed 48 unforced errors against Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina as she fell to a 6-0, 7-6 (8-6) defeat. After a poor start, Raducanu fought hard to find a way back into the match, retrieving an early break in the second set before reeling off a sequence of spectacular winners as she staved off five break points in the seventh game.
The 20-year-old saved two match points to force a tiebreak, but was unable to convert a set point at 6-5 in the ensuing tiebreak.
“I think I was struggling with everything, serve, return, forehand, backhand,” Raducanu told Sky Sports. “To be honest, I felt like I never really got into it.
“When the tennis isn’t there, you have to at least try to fight, and I think I did that in the second set.”
There was better news for another former US Open champion as Naomi Osaka defeated Caroline Garcia, the 15th seed, to gain a measure of vengeance for her first-round defeat to the Frenchwoman at last month’s Australian Open. Osaka won five straight games from 3-5 down in the opening set to create the platform for a 7-5, 6-4 victory.
“I’m definitely really happy,” said Osaka. “She’s beaten me once this year already, so I was really glad that I was able to learn from it.”