The leader in the women’s tennis world ranking, Iga Swiatek qualified for the fourth round of the Australian Open. The Polish tennis player defeated Cristina Bucsa (Spain) in the third round by 2-0 (6:0, 6:1) in just 55 minutes of play at the Margaret Court Arena.
The 21-year-old Iga Swiatek, who is aiming for a first Grand Slam title in Melbourne after the French Open and the US Opens, dropped just one game to the 100th-ranked Cristina Bucsa.
The Pole’s next opponent will be the 22nd-seeded and Wimbledon 2022 champion Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan. She eliminated 13th seed Danielle Collins (USA) бъ 2-1 (6:2, 5:7, 6:2) in a match that lasted two hours and six minutes.
Two other Americans, Cori Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, advanced to the fourth round after convincing victories. The 7th-seeded Cori Coco Gauff defeated her compatriot Bernarda Pera by 2-0 (6:3, 6:2) in an hour and 35 minutes.
“It was a tough match. Bernarda Pera was hitting the ball really hard and I was trying to respond to that. I’m happy to reach the second week of the tournament”, commented Cori Coco Gauff, who will face Jelena Ostapenko in the next round. The Latvian eliminated the representative of Ukraine, Kateryna Baindl, by 2-0 (6:3, 6:0).
Third-seeded Jessica Pegula needed an hour and six minutes to eliminate Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) by 2-0 (6:0, 6:2) and also reach the “Round of 16″. She will face Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic) in a match for a place in the quarter-finals.
“I played aggressively when I needed to, but also smartly. I’m happy to move on”, said Jessica Pegula.
Earlier in the day, Barbora Krejcikova eliminated Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina by 2-0 (6:2, 6:3) in a match that lasted an hour and 26 minutes. The Czech tennis player won the first five games of the match and dominated against Anhelina Kalinina.