Calm had returned to Flushing Meadows, a few hours after the great moment that constituted the Serena Williams match and the subsequent tribute ceremony, which ended up being somewhat premature.
Because in an atmosphere of very great evenings, the American, all dressed in diamonds for the occasion, managed to postpone her inevitable retirement announced at the beginning of August, with a victory over the Montenegrin Danka Kovinic, even claiming then to want to "stay vague" on when she will bow out.
"I've never seen anything like this. It was the most watched first round of a Grand Slam tournament ever. It's just amazing. Not every player would put up with that kind of commotion . She's handling pretty well, as usual. It confirms how great she is. And the outfit too, by the way, pretty cool," Swiatek commented on the heels of his authoritative 6-3, 6-0 success on the Italian Jasmine Paolini (56th) in 1h07.
A success as convincing as it is encouraging, with which the 21-year-old Polish woman was logically satisfied on the Louis-Armstrong court bathed in sunlight: "A first round like that is a good test, it allows you to find the rhythm, to make the right settings."
Apart from a slight dip in the middle of the first set, which saw her commit unforced errors sanctioned by a double break, Swiatek was hard-hitting and ultra-dominant, pulling off sharp climbs on the fly.
In the end, she won seven of Paolini's eight service games, constantly attacked on the return without her opponent leaving a single crumb.
Quiet Norrie
After an irresistible spring, which saw her chain 37 victories and six titles in a row, including Roland-Garros in June, Swiatek had experienced an inconclusive hard training this summer, marked by two eliminations in 8th in Toronto and Cincinnati , complaining in particular about the bullets, which were lighter than those of the men.
For the time being, they do not seem to be causing her any problems at Flushing Meadows, where she is trying for her fourth participation, the first in the shoes of a big favorite, to pass the stage of the round of 16, her best result ever. year.
Her next round seems to be within reach, whether against the American Sloane Stephens (51st), winner at Flushing Meadows in 2017, or the Belgian Greet Minnen (110th).
The Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (6th), Jessica Pegula (8th) and the Spaniard Garbiñe Muguruza (9th) also held their ranks without forcing.
For the men, the day promises to be Spanish, since Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are also making their debuts.
The first (3rd in the world), who is trying in New York to bring his record of Grand Slam victories to 23, should not encounter any problems at night against the Australian Rinky Hijikata (198th), beneficiary of an invitation.
The second, revealed on this same big stage last year, where he had reached the quarters, and which confirms his explosion this year with four titles on the circuit which made him climb to 4th place in the world, is opposed to the Argentinian Sebastian Baez (37th).
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Among the first qualifiers is the Briton Cameron Norrie (9th), recent semi-finalist in Cincinnati, who offered himself a walk in the park against the French Benoît Paire 6-0, 7-6 (7/1), 6-0 .
Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (17th), who reached the last four at Flushing Meadows in 2019, was also expeditious 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 at the expense of American Steve Johnson (110th).
© 2022 AFP