sports

Iga Swiatek demolishes Anastasia Potapova in 40 minutes



World No. 1 Iga Swiatek moved into the quarterfinals of the French Open with a 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Russia’s Anastasia Potapova in 40 minutes on Sunday.

Potapova was playing in the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career, but Swiatek took full control of the play and gave the Russian no time to breathe between a flurry of points.

Swiatek won without even facing a game point against her. The match ended when Potapova hit a forehand into the net on the first match point.

“I was just really focused and in the zone,” Swiatek said. “It went pretty quickly, pretty weird.”

Swiatek became the first women’s player since Ana Ivanovic in 2008, and sixth overall, to win a match in the fourth round or later at the French Open without dropping a game, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Steffi Graf accomplished the feat in the 1988 final against Natasha Zvereva.

Potapova attacked Swiatek’s serve on the odd occasion to claim a couple of winners, but the Polish player’s near-perfect shots left her Russian opponent with no answers as the top seed wrapped up the first set in 19 minutes.

The crowd inside Court Philippe Chatrier tried their best to encourage Potapova, but Swiatek looked at ease, forcing the Russian player into several mistakes as the top seed consolidated her early break.

The only problem Swiatek had was the swirling wind on serve, with the roof finally left open after several days of rain.

In the quarterfinals, Swiatek will face fifth seed Marketa Vondrousova, who eased to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

LEAVE A RESPONSE

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *