World No.1 Iga Swiatek was able to repel the powerful balls of Germany's Jule Niemeier (69th) to beat her 6-4, 7-5 on Monday in the first round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
The two players had already met at the US Open, where Swiatek lost the first set in the round of 16 before turning the tide, winning widely and lifting the trophy a few days later.
To discover
Australian Open: ladies schedule and results
Australian Open: men's schedule and results
So in Melbourne, "I wanted to focus on my game: she had put a lot of pressure on me at the US Open so today I wanted to focus on myself to prevent her from doing that", explained the Pole. .
It was not easy, but Swiatek did it and will face Colombian Camila Osorio (84th) in the second round.
