By Nick Mulvenney
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Second seed Iga Swiatek charged into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-1 6-0 humbling of Emma Raducanu in a meeting of former U.S. Open champions at a sunny Melbourne Park on Saturday.
Polish number one Swiatek targeted Raducanu’s backhand and feasted on the Briton’s second serve to win the last 11 games of the contest and reach the last 16 in Melbourne for the fifth time in just 70 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
“I just enjoyed playing, I played a few shots where I thought ‘yeah, this is what I practised for’,” the 23-year-old said after improving her career record against Raducanu to 4-0.
“I felt really confident so at the end I could push more and converting all those break points was really important for me.”
Swiatek converted five of the 12 break points she earned but faced none on her own serve from the hapless Raducanu, who has endured a string of injuries since capturing her only major at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
The world number 61 managed to hold serve at the first attempt but Swiatek was soon scurrying around the court finding the lines with her winners and showcasing her incredible consistency.
The five-times Grand Slam champion, whose best performance in Melbourne was a run to the semi-finals in 2022, has yet to drop a set this year on her way to the fourth round, where she will play lucky loser Eva Lys or Jaqueline Cristian.
After a few days of cooler weather, temperatures started to rise on Saturday with projected highs of around 31 degrees Celsius (88F) over the weekend.
“For sure it helps,” said Swiatek. “But on the other hand you also have to keep the control, so it’s a mix.
“In tennis, the most important thing is adjusting … I felt like it was going to be a challenge to adjust but obviously from the beginning I felt like I’m playing well, my hand is fast.”
American Alex Michelsen was also an early winner on day seven of the championships, racing past 2023 semi-finalist Karen Khachanov 6-3 7-6(5) 6-2 on John Cain Arena.
The 20-year-old Michelsen, who rallied from 3-0 down in the second set, joined compatriot Tommy Paul in the fourth round with four more Americans playing third-round ties on Satuday.
Eighth seed Emma Navarro joined the American charge with a 6-4 3-6 6-4 win over Tunisian Ons Jabeur in a topsy-turvy match on Margaret Court Arena.
Men’s top seed Jannik Sinner later resumes his title defence against another in the shape of unseeded Marcos Giron, while 10th seed Danielle Collins faces her childhood penpal Madison Keys in an all-American women’s clash.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
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