Swiatek beat Stephens with relative ease on Thursday (Courtesy: Reuters)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Swiatek defeated Stephens with relative ease
- Pegula beat Sasnovich in the second round with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-4
- Pegula won her match in one hour and 19 minutes
World No.1 Iga Swiatek cruised past Sloane Stephens to enter the third round of the US Open on Thursday. The eighth-seeded Jessica Pegula also followed suit and went past Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round.
Swiatek had faced Stephens recently and it was a tough test for the World No.1. However, on Thursday, it was a more straightforward affair for the Polish star as the American had no answer to the onslaught. Swiatek had break points in every game of the first set. Despite using just two out of the eight, World No.1 took home the first set 6-3.
The second set saw Stephens struggle once again to come to terms with Swiatek’s offence and she quickly conceded defeat to the World No.1.
The Polish star secured the win with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-2 and needed only 74 minutes to dispatch the 2017 champion.
Pegula was able to defeat Sasnovich in an hour and 19 minutes to book her spot in the third round of the US Open. The Belrussian star had come into the Grand slam in good form but the American was able to bring her down with a strong performance on the day.
Pegula had six aces throughout the match and converted five of her 10 break points to reach the third round for the third straight year on Thursday.
Speaking after the match, Pegula, as quoted by WTAtennis.com, said that she was glad to get through the first matches by playing smart.
The American No.1 said that she expects the competition to get tougher with each game and isn’t getting ahead of herself.
“I’m glad I got through my first two matches doing what I needed to do and playing smart,” Pegula said afterward. “It’s only going to get tougher from here, so I’m just happy with each match and hoping the next match kind of goes the same way. Try not to get too ahead of myself.”
