Iga Swiatek kicked off her title defense with an emphatic victory over Rebecca Peterson in the first round of the US Open, while Maria Sakkari lost her Grand Slam opener for the third consecutive time.
The top-seeded Swiatek breezed past Sweden’s Peterson 6-0 6-1 in just 58 minutes. The Pole is now 18-1 in first-round matches at majors, including a 5-0 record in New York; her 94.74 win percentage in R128 is the best among active players.
The world No.86 Peterson was facing a world No.1 player for the first time in her career and has now lost all her three encounters with Swiatek.