World No. 2 Iga Swiatek had to shake off some rust and some jitters to overcome a spirited challenge from Yuan Yue, an in-form Chinese qualifier, but she prevailed after two hours in the overnight session of the Australian Open on Monday.
Winning a Grand Slam is tough. For this, many things have to come together. Yes, it is a tough tournament, so I have no expectations. It would clearly be a dream come true [to win the career Grand Slam]. This is not my clear purpose that I wake up with. I think more about how I want to play, what I want to improve every day. Iga Świątek
Also through to Round 2 are Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider, but both dropped their opening sets before rallying to beat Barbora Krejcikova and Donna Vekic respectively.
Completing the first round of a Grand Slam is never easy and Swiatek, a six-time major champion, had to survive an early spell of fearless ball attacks from Yuan before recovering from 3-5 down in the opener to eventually enter the second round, 7-6 (5) 6-3, to face another challenger, Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic, who eased past Mexico’s Renata Zarazua 6-2. 7-5.
“I was definitely a little rusty at the beginning and didn’t really start well,” Swiatek admitted after her opening victory. “I knew if I worked hard I would play better, so that’s what I tried to do from the middle of the first set. I’m glad it worked. Lots of ups and downs, and I have some things to work on.”
“I started a little bit tight, so I had to get my legs moving and go after my shots. I had to react a little quicker and not get pushed back.
“It wasn’t perfect, but I’m happy because it’s hard to win matches when everything isn’t going well. Today that wasn’t the case, but I was able to win, so that’s good. My focus was better since the 5-3 in the first set, and in the tiebreak it was at its peak. I took my chances.”
The 24-year-old is considering completing a Grand Slam career if she can add the elusive Australian Open title to her growing portfolio, a feat that, if she can pull it off, has only been achieved by six women in the Open Era.
“To be honest, since the beginning of the year, a lot of people have been coming up to me and talking to me about it,” Swiatek told the media last week. “I’m really just focusing on the day-to-day work. That’s how it’s always been for me. This is how I was actually able to achieve the success that I already have, by really focusing on grinding, one match at a time.”
She tries to keep such expectations at bay, knowing full well how easy it is to stumble when you get ahead of yourself.
“Winning a Grand Slam is tough,” Swiatek added. “For that, a lot of things have to come together. Yes, it is a tough tournament, so I have no expectations. Obviously it would be a dream come true [to win the career Grand Slam]. This is not my clear purpose that I wake up with. I think more about how I want to play, what I want to improve every day.”
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Monday night’s match was a wake-up call as world No. 130 Yuan started hitting basic strokes in the opening, immediately breaking and sending a message of her intention to make things as difficult as possible for the No. 2 seed.
Ranked 36th in the world, Yuan owns one tour title and had to endure three tough matches to qualify, making her competitive and confident, and she took the match to the Pole in the opening hour.
The 27-year-old from Yangzhou in eastern China looked composed, and an aggressive return helped her break through in the very first game, and moments later she had built a surprise 2-0 lead.
It wasn’t until the sixth game that Swiatek, who lost to eventual champion Madison Keys in last year’s Melbourne Park semi-final, was able to get back on level terms, with a big crosscourt forehand on break point to bring the score back to 3-all.
Swiatek’s relief didn’t last long, however, as Yuan came back with more aggressive hitting and pushed deep into the court to break for a second time.
Good use of the kick serve on the ad court kept Swiatek under pressure in the next game, and another wild forehand miss from the Pole left her 5-3 down, but great champions have a knack for finding something special when needed, and with Yuan serving for the set, the former world number 1 cleaned up her game, attacked sensibly and extended the rallies.
The Pole produced one of her best shots of the match on one of the biggest points, hitting a backhand winner on the outside of the sideline on break point to make it 5-5, and she could breathe a sigh of relief as she got away from 4/4 in the breaker to take the set, 7/5.
The four-time Roland Garros winner was back on track as she quickly broke twice to sprint to a 3-0 second set lead, but Yuan continued to fight and cause trouble even after physio treatment for a back injury in the 3-0 sit-down, keeping the middle part of the set tight and keeping the gap to a single break, until Swiatek finally pulled away to cross the finish line after exactly 2 hours on track.
“There were moments when I felt great, but the start of the match wasn’t so perfect,” Swiatek said in the press afterwards. “I’m glad I got through this and, yes, could finish in straight sets, like you said. Also, play more aggressive and precise during the tiebreak.”
Swiatek ended the night with 24 winners, winning 72% of the points on her first serve, while taking advantage of Yuan’s second throw to capture 21 of 34 points, 62%.
Eighth seed Mirra Andreeva was initially defeated by Donna Vekic but beat her on Monday night at Margaret Court Arena
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Meanwhile, Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider faced two of the toughest first-round draws at the Australian Open, but the two close friends and former doubles partners passed their tests within minutes of each other, both coming from a set set up for that purpose.
No. 8 Andreeva, who had won her fifth title in Adelaide last week, won her last seven matches in a row, beating Donna Vekic 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, in one hour and 54 minutes, and was followed by No. 23 Shnaider, who withstood a barrage of winners from Barbora Krejcikova, but came through 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, after 2 hours and 12 minutes as the Czech began to wither physically.
Andreeva won Adelaide without dropping a set but was immediately drawn against former world number 17 and 2024 Wimbledon semi-finalist Vekic, who had already pushed her to the limit in their only previous meeting in Beijing last year.
The Croatian’s ability to take on the game’s best was evident during an excellent first set and a half, as she unleashed a series of fierce forehands and powered her way through multiple deuce battles to take the opener at 1-3.
However, Andreeva kept her composure and began to outwit Vekic with sharp angles and confident net finishes, winning 10 of the next 11 games with 2-2 in the second, calming down towards the finish as the Croatian visibly faded.
“I’m very happy with how I came back in this match,” Andreeva said in her on-court interview. “We tried to stay focused, stick to the plan and do what I have to do on the field. Sometimes it’s more difficult, sometimes there are of course days when it’s more difficult to do that. Now I realize that it really depends on how much I want to do it. Now I’ve found the mentality so far [that it] It really doesn’t matter what happens on the field, just to still go for my shots and try to be brave.
Andreeva will face another former major semi-finalist in the form of Maria Sakkari, whom she has not faced before, in the second round.
23rd seed Diana Shnaider battled past an injured Barbora Krejcikova at Melbourne Park’s Kia Arena on Monday night
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Shnaider, who won the 2024 Paris Olympics doubles silver medal with Andreeva, also had a positive start to the season. He took down Madison Keys in a three-way tiebreak thriller in the third round of Brisbane and reached the Adelaide semi-finals last week. But two-time Grand Slam champion Krejcikova was one of the most dangerous unseeded floaters in the AO draw, and the 21-year-old Russian knew it.
“When I saw the draw, I thought, ‘Oh, great,’” she said, laughing on the field afterwards. “In any case, it will be a great match.”
Krejcikova, currently ranked 58th due to injury layoffs in 2025, found her peak level in an astonishing first set and opened the second by breaking Shnaider for a third time, but the 23rd seed hit back immediately, hammering a forehand winner for her first break point of the match.
As the set progressed, Shnaider improved and Krejcikova could not maintain her initial, unplayable brilliance.
When Krejcikova served at 4-3, the intensity dropped further, and a slew of uncharacteristic errors gave Shnaider an important break, breaking again in a marathon opening match for the decider.
By now Krejcikova, whose left leg was heavily strapped the entire time, was visibly hampered in her movements, and she took a medical timeout off the field while trailing 2–1.
Upon restarting, Shnaider had to hold her nerve against an opponent, who was unable to cover the field as she had initially done, but whose ball striking from a standing position was as deadly as ever.
She landed a number of shots of her own as she neared the finish line, pulling herself to the front to then take on Australian wildcard Talia Gibson.
Among other late results on Monday, Paula Badosa, the 25th seed from Spain, defeated Zarina Diyas, a wildcard representing Kazakhstan, 6-2 6-4; while No. 21 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium advanced with a 7-5 6-1 win over Thai qualifier Lantana Tararudee; and Russia’s Oksana Selekhmeteva defeated Germany’s Ella Seidel 6-3 3-6 6-0.
Iga Swiatek serves against Yuan Yue during their first round singles match on Day 2 of the Australian Open
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