Playing her first match of the Hard-Court Swing, Iga Swiatek raced out to a 6-0, 3-0 lead over Sara Bejlek in just 45 minutes — but had to battle for nearly another hour to finish off the valiant Czech 6-0, 6-3 in 1 hour and 34 minutes.
The pair had already met in the second round of Roland Garros this year — and though Swiatek won that encounter 6-2, 6-3, she noted afterwards that Bejlek’s speed and variety had made it a “tricky match.” It was little surprise that the No. 7 seed came out of the blocks sharp, winning a superb cat-and-mouse exchange on the very first point and then hammering a return winner for an immediate break of the Bejlek serve.
That set the stage for a dominant opening set in which Swiatek fired seven winners, committed only three unforced errors and conceded just 11 points in total. As she advanced to a point to hold for 4-0 in the second set, the possibility of her first 6-0, 6-0 victory since defeating Amanda Anisimova in the 2025 Wimbledon final loomed.
Hot shots and a 13-deuce tussle: Swiatek passed up the 4-0 opportunity by netting a forehand — and Bejlek, who had been switching up her tactics with drop shots and net play in a bid to get a foothold in the match, seized her opportunity to create some momentum. The World No. 38, who claimed her first WTA title in Abu Dhabi in February, won the best point of the match in the next game, an enthralling 19-stroke exchange in which she did not give Swiatek the same shot twice, and finished with an angled backhand pass.
With Swiatek’s lead cut to 3-2, the Pole had to battle through a marathon 13-deuce game to prevent Bejlek from levelling the score. It featured both spectacular winners and cheap mistakes as both players’ form oscillated; Swiatek managed to save nine break points before finally converting her sixth game point as Bejlek sent a forehand long.
Having emerged from that tussle, Swiatek managed to get over the line safely, sealing her third match point when a dead net cord went in her favor. However, her tally of 24 unforced errors in the second set is a statistic she’ll aim to improve on when she faces Viktorija Golubic, who upset No. 31 seed Donna Vekic 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, in the third round.
Svitolina comes through 2-hour, 47-minute rollercoaster: No. 9 seed Elina Svitolina, the 2017 champion in Canada, was made to work even harder in her opener. The Ukrainian trailed Jessica Bouzas Maneiro by a set and 3-1, but came back to win 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-4 in 2 hours and 47 minutes. Svitolina also led 5-0 in the third set, but had to hold off a late charge by the No. 63-ranked Spaniard, who was looking for her second Top 10 win of the season.