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Iga Swiatek and Danielle Collins faced each other for the second time in as many weeks at the Cincinnati Open on Wednesday. Last week, when they faced each other in Montreal, Swiatek had needed three sets to beat the American.
However, this week, the Pole notched a 6-1, 6-0 win in less than an hour to win her opening-round clash and reach the third round. Swiatek won 74% of her first-serve points and won 83% points on return on Collins’ second serve.
The only game Swiatek lost in the match came courtesy of a service break but the world no. 1 also converted seven break points on her opponent’s serve. In the upcoming round, the top seed will encounter China’s Qinwen Zheng.
Zheng came from down a set to post a win over Venus Williams, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 in a contest that came short of two hours by merely four minutes. In the first set, Williams looked to be riding the momentum that had gotten her through the first round against Veronika Kudermetova.
However, as the match went on, Zheng found her rhythm even as Williams was unable to her sustain her initial good run. Zheng finished the match by winning 73% of her first-serve points to Williams’ 54%. The younger rival won 51% of her second-serve points to her 43-year-old opponent’s 46%.
Zheng saved two of the five break points she faced while converting five break points on Williams’ serve.
Cincinnati Open: Petra Kvitova makes her way out
On Tuesday, the defending champion in Cincinnati, Caroline Garcia, exited the tournament.
A day after the Frenchwoman’s departure, it was the turn of the defending finalist, Petra Kvitova to do the same. In the Czech second-round derby between Linda Noskova and the ninth-seeded Kvitova, the teenager pocketed a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win.
This was the second meeting between the two compatriots. Their first meeting that also took place in 2023 came at the Miami Open. Back then, Kvitova had notched an easy 6-3, 6-0 win over Noskova. Noskova will now play seventh seed Coco Gauff.
The seventh seed needed 80 minutes to wrap up a 6-2, 6-2 win over Mayar Sherif. Lastly, Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina all needed a deciding set to help them get through to the third round of the Cincinnati Open.
The second-seeded Sabalenka won 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 against Ann Li. The third-seeded Pegula and fourth-seeded Rybakina, meanwhile, fought from down a set to pip Martina Trevisan and Jelena Ostapenko respectively. The recent Canadian Open winner won 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-3.
The Kazakh won 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-4. Photo Credit: The Tennis Letter Twitter 