Swiatek solves Pliskova, Vondrousova stops Wozniacki in Montreal

 

[August 10, 2023]  (Reuters) -World number one Iga Swiatek overcame an early test before running away with a 7-6(6) 6-2 victory over Czech Karolina Pliskova in Montreal on Wednesday to reach the third round of the Canadian Open.

Swiatek was locked in a battle early against former world number one Pliskova but managed to stay in the match by winning most of the long rallies while displaying both a lethal forehand and solid court coverage.

"This first match was a challenge, it's always a challenge especially against a player like that," Swiatek said during her on-court interview.

"She for sure used her experience in the first set, but I am happy that I could close it in a tiebreak, and in the second set I was more solid because I really wanted to reset, think about what I could do better and I am pretty glad that I did that."

Swiatek faced plenty of resistance from Pliskova in the hour-long first set but managed to come back from 5-4 down to force a tiebreaker where she again had to come from behind before sealing it when the Czech sent a forehand wide.

In the second set, Swiatek found a new gear and followed an early break with a hold to love to grab control and never looked back as her mix of power and control proved to much for Pliskova to overcome.
 

While serving for the match, Swiatek handed a break to Pliskova with her first double fault of the set, but the Pole immediately broke back in the next game to seal the win.

Up next for four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek, who will launch the defense of her U.S. Open title later this month, will be Karolina Muchova, who she beat in this year's French Open final.

WOZNIACKI STOPPED

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova ended Caroline Wozniacki's first tournament back after a more than three-year break from competitive tennis with a 6-2 7-5 victory to reach the third round.

Vondrousova used her lefty topspin forehand and well-disguised drop shot to run Wozniacki around the court and capture the first set.

It looked like Vondrousova would make quick work of the Dane in the second set when she jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but back-to-back double faults presented Wozniacki with a break opportunity, which she converted for 3-1.

Wozniacki rode that momentum to win the next three games, capped by an epic 13-minute seventh game, for a 4-3 advantage.

An increasingly frustrated Vondrousova stopped the bleeding with an unreturnable serve to level at 4-4.

The ninth-seeded Czech sealed a love hold with an ace for 5-5 before a Wozniacki backhand error put her on the doorstep at 6-5.

Aug 9, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Iga Swiatek (POL) hits a forehand against Karolina Pliskova (CZE) (not pictured) during second round play at IGA Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Vondrousova claimed her ninth consecutive win with a pinpoint serve out wide on match point that Wozniacki could only flail at to set up a clash with American teenager Coco Gauff, who won their only previous meeting.

Wozniacki, a former world number one Grand Slam champion who retired in 2020 to start a family, was ultimately undone by 41 unforced errors under sunny skies in Montreal.

"All in all I'm going to take a lot of positives with me from this week and build on that moving forward," said Wozniacki, who has been given wild cards into next week's Cincinnati Open and the Aug. 28-Sept. 10 U.S. Open.

"I won my match yesterday. I played today against someone who just won Wimbledon."

COLLINS STUNS SAKKARI

Qualifier Danielle Collins backed up a first-round win over Elina Svitolina with a 6-4 6-2 takedown of eighth seed Maria Sakkari for the biggest upset of the tournament.

The resurgent American will next face Leylah Fernandez after the 20-year-old Canadian earned a grueling 7-5 5-7 6-3 victory over Beatriz Haddad Maia to reach the round of 16.

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka erased a second set deficit to beat Petra Martic 6-3 7-6(5) under the lights in her first match of the hard-court swing.

The hard-hitting Belarusian will next face Liudmila Samsonova in the third round of a tournament where she has an opportunity to take over the world number one ranking for the first time.

Among other seeded players in early action, Jessica Pegula, Gauff and Liudmila Samsonova enjoyed straight-set victories to reach the third round while Belinda Bencic advanced with a 6-3 5-7 6-4 win over Alycia Parks.

Third seed Elena Rybakina completed her rain-interrupted match, which began on Tuesday night, with a 6-7(3) 7-6(5) 6-3 win over American Jennifer Brady on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto and Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Pritha Sarkar, William Mallard & Shri Navaratnam)

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