Iga Swiatek sets WTA 1000 record and matches Kim Clijsters feat with Dubai demolition
Iga Swiatek set and equalled a pair of records that illustrate her outstanding consistency with her opening victory at the Dubai Championships.
The world No 2 steamrolled two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka in her first match at the WTA 1000 event after a lengthy rain delay.
Swiatek broke the 35-year-old Belarusian six times and lost serve only once in a contest lasting an hour and 13 minutes.
The five-time major champion has improved her record against Azarenka, a former world No 1 who is currently ranked 34th, to 4-1.
In an on-court interview, Swiatek paid tribute to Azarenka’s career.
“She’s a legend. I have so much respect for her,” she said. “Her career is outstanding and she’s still playing super good, so I just wanted to be ready.
“And we played couple of times, so I was aware of how she plays, but yeah, I was ready for everything. I’m happy that I was solid and just focused and in the zone.”
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Asked what she did during the rain delay, Swiatek said: “I just read a book. I got a quick nap. I started doing some legos. Then unfortunately I had to go and play… so legos had to wait (smiling).”
Swiatek now holds the highest win rate of any player in opening matches at WTA 1000 tournaments (90.9%) since the format was introduced in 2009. Her last loss in an opening WTA 1000 match was a defeat to Ons Jabeur at the 2022 Cincinnati Open.
The 23-year-old has won her first match at 51 consecutive tournaments, which makes her only the second woman this century after Kim Clijsters to accomplish this.
Swiatek, who is a 10-time WTA 1000 titlist, is aiming to win the Dubai Championships for the first time. She was a runner-up at the tournament in 2023 and a semi-finalist last year.
The Pole will face world No 48 Dayana Yastremska in the third round in Dubai.
Aryna Sabalenka, Jasmine Paolini, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula and Karolina Muchova also progressed to the last 16 on Tuesday. Paolini, the world No 4, is the defending champion, having beaten Anna Kalinskaya in the 2024 final.
World No 3 Coco Gauff was upset in the second round by McCartney Kessler.
