"NEW YORK -- Iga Swiatek made a strong start to her quest for a second straight major as she beat Emiliana Arango of Colombia 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday. She marched into round two in exactly one hour, looking every inch the favorite to double her US Open tally, having earned the title here in 2022. Next up, she will play Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands on Thursday."
"When the world No. 2 accepted her winner's trophy in Cincinnati earlier this month, it was notable that the first person she thanked was her coach, Wim Fissette. The two appear to be forging a formidable partnership. Fissete, who has won majors with Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka, was hired by Swiatek at the end of last year. Since then, he has played an integral role in her resurgence, focusing on a couple of minor technical adjustments."
"It took time, as Swiatek dealt with the fall-out from serving a one-month ban for a failed drugs test -- which the anti-doping authorities accepted was due to a contaminated batch of melatonin she was using for jet lag. Her form slipped, and she struggled also to cope with the expectations on her shoulders on clay. But the work the pair did in pre-season laid the foundations for her comeback. 'I would say after Roland Garros I kind of got back to my usual self,' Swiatek told reporters on the eve of the US Open. 'I would say the process of learning all this stuff in pre-season kind of came back, and for sure I used it on Wimbledon and on hard court in Cincinnati.'"
Iga Swiatek defeated Emiliana Arango 6-1, 6-2 in one hour to reach the second round of the US Open and will face Suzan Lamens next. Swiatek has won 16 of her last 17 matches, including Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open, marking a strong return to top form after a clay-court dip. Coach Wim Fissette, hired late last year, has driven minor technical adjustments and played an integral role in her resurgence. A one-month ban tied to contaminated melatonin earlier affected her form, and pre-season work helped rebuild confidence and performance.
Read at ESPN.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]