Melbourne, Jan 22 — Iga Swiatek continued her pursuit of a maiden Australian Open crown and a career Grand Slam after defeating unseeded Marie Bouzkova 6-2, 6-3 to book a place in the third round on Thursday.
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The 24-year-old second seed showed a marked improvement from her previous outing, displaying sharp movement and aggression as she competed at John Cain Arena, with little sign of the sluggishness that troubled her in the earlier round.
Swiatek arrived in Melbourne following two defeats during Poland’s successful United Cup campaign and was pushed hard by Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue in her opening match. However, she appeared far more settled against Bouzkova, taking control early and asserting herself from the baseline.
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She dominated the opening set by lifting the tempo from the outset and frequently approaching the net with success. Bouzkova responded strongly in the second set, racing into a 3-1 lead and briefly putting Swiatek under pressure.
The six-time Grand Slam champion responded by leveling the set after six games before striking a decisive forehand winner at the net to regain the advantage. From there, Swiatek maintained control to close out the match and secure a third-round meeting with 31st seed Anna Kalinskaya.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Melbourne; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
-TheStar