Poland’s Iga Swiatek serves to Germany’s Eva Lys during their single match of the Women’s Tennis Grand Prix WTA 500 tournament in Stuttgart, southwestern Germany, on April 20, 2022. – AFP pic
STUTTGART, April 21 – World number one Iga Swiatek powered her way past German qualifier Eva Lys as she opened her campaign at the Stuttgart WTA tournament with an impressive second-round victory on Wednesday.
Lys, ranked 342 in the world, went down fighting, but had few answers as Poland’s Swiatek used her experience to grind out a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
“I was very happy to play the number one, it was a tough match. Her intensity blew me away,” said Lys.
“Every minute with a player like that is worth as much as a week of training.”
The 20-year-old Swiatek was given a first-round bye in the indoor clay-court event.
She has won her three previous tournaments this year in Miami, Indian Wells and Doha.
British teenager Emma Raducanu needed just over an hour to see off Australian qualifier Storm Sanders 6-1, 6-2 to set up a second-round match with lucky loser Tamara Korpatsch.
A second victory in Stuttgart for Raducanu, the US Open champion, would set up a quarter-final clash with Swiatek.
Earlier, Karolina Pliskova ground out a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) victory over fellow Czech Petra Kvitova in their first-round tie.
In the round of 32, Pliskova will face Russian Liudmila Samsonova. – AFP