French Open 2022 - Iga Swiatek demolishes Alison Riske to march into round three with 30th win in a row
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ByEurosport
Updated 26/05/2022 at 17:07 GMT
Iga Swiatek looking in unstoppable form on Court Suzanne Lenglen to march into round three of the French Open, easing past American Alison Riske in straight sets. The defending champion made it 30 wins in a row with the win, securing victory in just over an hour. Stream the 2022 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+
'30 wins in a row and counting' - Swiatek storms through to third round at French Open
Iga Swiatek took her winning streak to 30 matches, beating Alison Riske 6-0, 6-2 in under an hour to proceed to the third round of the French Open.
The 20-year-old world No.1 - and tournament favourite - quickly raced into a three-game lead, comfortably holding her serve in the opening game before showcasing her blistering forehand to put herself a break up.
Swiatek had a double break in less than 15 minutes of play, as she started to dismantle a struggling Riske, who couldn’t find a way into the game.
The opening set came to its conclusion when Swiatek quickly earned herself a double set point on the Riske serve, and she converted the first one as Riske fired a forehand long.
Swiatek posted seven games on the board without reply as she won the opening game of the second set, hitting 12 winners compared to Riske's one.
Riske managed to put some pressure on a relentless Swiatek for the first time as she took the Pole to deuce for the first time in the third game, but Swiatek efficiently wrapped the game up.
The tempo from Swiatek dropped slightly as she squandered three break points which allowed Riske to win her first game of the match, but Swiatek took the fifth game to all but confirm her spot in the next round.
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Riske showed some fight and did enough to hold her service game, but despite holding on for longer in the rallies, Swiatek remained in control of the match.
A wild backhand from Riske gave Swiatek the penultimate game, before winning the last to set up a third-round tie with Montenegro's Danka Kovinic.
Speaking after the match, Swiatek said she was "happy" with her performance on her Lenglen debut.
“I’m pretty happy. I’m happy that I’m playing really solid tennis," she said. "This is my first singles match on Lenglen, so it was a pleasure playing here.”
Swiatek admitted her technique that impressively saw off Riske is getting "better and better", but says she's "still not an expert".
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'Focused' and 'happy' Swiatek reacts to latest convincing win at French Open
“[A boxer-like approach] is not natural. It’s been something I’ve been working on since I started. Just being focussed and wanting to put pressure on my opponent is good because I can [take] initiative and really lead on the court, [which is] what I’m trying to do. Before every match, you need to get pumped up and in the zone, so I’m getting better and better at it, but I’m still not an expert.”
“[My coach] has more ideas than me [on what to practice]. Basically, I’ll work on everything, because I’m a perfectionist and I feel like there is always something I can do better. I don’t want to tell you, just in case my next opponent is watching! I’ll keep it to myself.”
Wilander wowed by 'unusual' Swiatek forehand
Mats Wilander watched Swiatek's latest dominant performance as she appears to be heading towards her second Grand Slam title and was in awe of the Pole's impressive forehand during the match.
"When you’re watching her, you don’t really know if she’s going to go cross-court or inside-out," he said. "Because she’s able to go both directions.
"She can even hit the inside-out forehand with spin that also takes her opponent out of the court. That is quite unusual; of course, Rafa Nadal and Novak can do that, but on the women’s side, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a forehand that is that effective on both sides, with the correct spin, [bringing] her opponent out of the middle of the court.”
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