World number one Iga Swiatek has advanced to the second round of the US Open tennis, after defeating 104th-ranked Kamilla Rakhimova with 6–4, 7–6 (8–6) in the Grand Slam tournament.
It was, of course, a match that Swiatek was supposed to win – but Rakhimova offered surprisingly tough resistance, while the world number one occasionally slacked off and made mistakes.
It felt good in the beginning, but then I got a bit tight and my opponent could take advantage of it, so I just tried to find my way back to my own game, says Swiatek in the post-match interview.
In the end, the Polish star was still clearly the strongest and could win in two straight sets.