Iga Swiatek of Warsaw, Poland is number one in women’s tennis at the moment for a couple of reasons. First, she is an outstanding returner, probably the best the women’s game has seen in a while. Possibly since the great Serena Williams was in her prime. Second, she has the great characteristic of resiliency in her game. Even when she was down 4-1 to the great Danielle Collins in the deciding set of the second round on Thursday at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne (Wednesday evening in North America), there was a belief that somehow and some way, Swiatek was not completely out of the match, and had the capability to deliver some third set magic. In the end, that sentiment and general feeling was correct as Swiatek came through with a challenging 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win.
Swiatek may not have been at her best throughout the match, but she steamrolled past Collins, when it mattered most. Even though Collins, the 30-year-old St. Petersburg, Florida native, was unseeded in the first major of the season, her resume is more impressive than most seeded players. She has made the Australian Open semifinal in 2019, the Australian Open final in 2022, was a quarterfinalist at the French Open in 2020, and was a two-time WTA tournament winner (2021 Palermo Ladies Open and 2021 Silicon Valley Classic).
There is no doubt that Collins felt the pressure of being in the lead, and seemed a little embarrassed of her third set collapse. After losing to Swiatek, she went over to her chair, put a towel over her head, and took a few moments to regroup before leaving the court.
This was Swiatek’s second impressive win at the 2024 Australian Open to date. In the first round she beat 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 7-6, 6-2. Up next for the world number one is Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic in the third round.
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