Iga Świątek advanced to the 3rd round of the WTA hard-court tournament in Cincinnati. The leader of the women’s tennis ranking defeated American Sloane Stephens 6:4, 7:5 on Wednesday.
The tournament in Cincinnati is Iga Świątek’s last test before the Grand Slam US Open in New York, which begins on August 29. The Pole is not yet looking as good as she did in the first half of this year, but her form was good enough to defeat Sloane Stephens.
Hello final 16!@iga_swiatek takes out fellow Slam champ Sloane Stephens 6-4, 7-5#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/B6SaIlInbW
— Western & Southern Open (@CincyTennis) August 17, 2022
She quickly won the opening game on her serve, and then broke her rival. Later, however, the match evened out and the American led to a 4:4 tiebreak, but the next two games and, as a result, the set fell to Świątek.
In the second game, the 21-year-old Pole had a great period from the 1:2 mark. She won four straight games and found herself one step away from winning the match. Eventually, she won two games in a row and after an hour and 39 minutes, she could rejoice in advancing to the third round.
Iga’s 50th win of the season
World No.1 @iga_swiatek moves past Stephens, 6-4, 7-5 to reach the Round of 16 in Cincinnati! #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/3aZkFLU4gQ
— wta (@WTA) August 17, 2022
Iga Swiatek (Poland, 1) – Sloane Stephens (USA) 6:4, 7:5