Iga Swiatek and Danielle Collins faced each other for the second time in as many weeks at the Cincinnati Open on Wednesday. Last week, when they faced each other in Montreal, Swiatek had needed three sets to beat the American.
However, this week, the Pole notched a 6-1, 6-0 win in less than an hour to win her opening-round clash and reach the third round.Swiatek won 74% of her first-serve points and won 83% points on return on Collins’ second serve.
The only game Swiatek lost in the match came courtesy of a service break but the world no. 1 also converted seven break points on her opponent’s serve.In the upcoming round, the top seed will encounter China’s Qinwen Zheng.
Zheng came from down a set to post a win over Venus Williams, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 in a contest that came short of two hours by merely four minutes.In the first set, Williams looked to be riding the momentum that had gotten her through the first round against Veronika Kudermetova.
However, as the match went on, Zheng found her rhythm even as Williams was unable to her sustain her initial good run. Zheng finished the match by winning 73% of her first-serve points to Williams’ 54%. The younger rival won 51% of her…
