18:34
Iga Swiatek – Rebecca Peterson 5: 0
Another successful return not, the next Peterson flies a little too far and out of bounds. 5-0 after games.
18:34
Iga Swiatek 4-0 Rebecca Peterson
In the baseline duels, the Pole is also positioned further up the field and is the dominant player in all respects. A strong longline backhand is the sixth winner, Peterson surprisingly counters with a return winner – her first.
18:32
Iga Swiatek 4-0 Rebecca Peterson
At Swiatek, eleven of 13 first serves have landed in the field, a good rate. In a slightly longer rally, Peterson finally gives a forehand a little too much speed. 30:15 for Swiatek.
18:30
Iga Swiatek 4-0 Rebecca Peterson
Swiatek puts a lot of pace on her racquet and pushes Peterson so far back. The Swede wants to beat the opponent who is advancing to the net with a passing shot, but she doesn’t succeed. Double break for the favorite!
18:29
Iga Swiatek 3-0 Rebecca Peterson
With this, however, her return gets stuck on the edge of the net, debut. She returns the next serve much more powerfully, Peterson hits the ball into the net and gives her the second break chance.
18:28
Iga Swiatek 3-0 Rebecca Peterson
Then Swiatek unpacks an enormously strong forehand return and surprises Peterson with it. 30 both. A forehand winner from the middle into Peterson’s backhand corner gives the world number one a breakball.
18:27
Iga Swiatek 3-0 Rebecca Peterson
Peterson has won just two out of a total of 14 points. Early on there is much to be said for a short venture at Arthur Ashe Stadium. She is now bringing too few first serves into the field. Now two services are successful in the first attempt and the points are immediately won at 30:15.
18:24
Iga Swiatek 3-0 Rebecca Peterson
Two aces served to the outside ensure a service game won to zero and confirm the break for the Pole.
18:23
Iga Swiatek 2-0 Rebecca Peterson
So will it be as clear-cut as it was in the first two duels between the two Europeans? Peterson is currently showing strong rallies, but Swiatek is currently making hardly any mistakes.
18:22
Iga Swiatek 2-0 Rebecca Peterson
Swiatek perfects a backhand on the baseline, Peterson doesn’t find the right answer and hits the ball behind the baseline again. Early break for the favorite!
18:21
Iga Swiatek 1-0 Rebecca Peterson
The Swede is not rewarded for an actually strong rally. She distributes the balls well for 14 shots, but Swiatek shows resilience until a forehand from Peterson falls just wide of the touchline. Breakball right away!
18:20
Iga Swiatek 1-0 Rebecca Peterson
So now the 28-year-old challenger serves, like Swiatek, right-handed and with a two-handed backhand. Two forehands that are too wide bother her early on and she is 0:30 behind in the first service game.
18:17
Iga Swiatek 1-0 Rebecca Peterson
A forehand from the baseline flies to about the same point seconds later. Only 40:30 left. But then Swiatek finds good depth in her shots, Peterson makes a backhand error and the first serve goes to the favourite.
18:16
Iga Swiatek 0-0 Rebecca Peterson
Swiatek distributes the balls back and forth until Peterson can no longer hit a forehand with enough control. At the net, the Pole then makes the first mistake, putting a forehand volley just wide of the side.
18:14
Iga Swiatek 0-0 Rebecca Peterson
Perfect start, Swiatek thunders an ace to the outside. She also brings the second serve to the outside, then hits the winner in Peterson’s free forehand corner. Rapid 30:0.
18:13
1 sentence
Let’s go! While some matches have already started on the secondary courts, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year is now also beginning in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Swiatek serves first.
18:09
head to head
The two players have just entered the largest tennis stadium in the world. Let’s take a look at the head-to-head balance again: The two players met twice, each at Grand Slam tournaments. Both times, the clear favorite Swiatek did not have the slightest problem: At the French Open 2021, Swiatek cleared Peterson 6: 1, 6: 1, last year at the Australian Open the match went 6: 2, 6: 2.
18:03
number one in the world
In New York, there could also be a change to number one in the world rankings. Aryna Sabalenka is putting pressure on from second place, and Swiatek, as the reigning winner, can lose a lot of points. She needs to get a better US Open result than Sabalenka to stay number one.
17:57
No reason to worry
The alarm bells shouldn’t ring too high given the form since the French Open, last year Swiatek only won one match at the Masters in Montreal and Cincinnati, but was still crowned US Open Queen. And: We’re still talking about two Masters semifinals, so that’s complaining at the highest level.
17:53
title favourite
Swiatek celebrated three of her four Grand Slam titles in Roland Garros, the only other tournament victory she celebrated in Flushing Meadows. Last year she won the US Open in the final against US hopeful Coco Gauff. As the reigning French Open winner and defending champion, she automatically goes into the last Grand Slam tournament of the year as the biggest favorite, even though she is not in the best form.
17:48
challenger
Today’s challenger is Rebecca Peterson and she is number 86 in the world. On the WTA Tour, she almost won her first title in Mérida (WTA250) earlier this year, but narrowly lost to Italian Camila Giorgi in the final. Otherwise, her appearances on the tour this season were mostly short-lived, but she took three important tournaments with her: In Indian Wells she performed well, in the French Open she survived round one, and in Wimbledon she failed in this one.
17:44
strong spring
As in the previous year, Swiatek was particularly convincing in the first part of the year, winning two tournaments in the run-up to the French Open, which the Pole also won. Since Roland Garros, the shape curve has at least flattened out a bit. It always went at least into the quarterfinals, but “only” one more title was added – in the WTA250 category, which was low by Swiatek’s standards. At the Masters tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati, the semifinals ended against an American – first against Jessica Pegula, then against Coco Gauff.
17:33
Welcome
Have a good day and welcome to the first day of the US Open! Title favorite Iga Swiatek opens the tournament at Arthur Ashe Stadium and meets Swedish outsider Rebecca Peterson. The match is scheduled to start at around 6 p.m.