No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland overcame a slew of unforced errors to secure her spot in the second round of the US Open with a 6-4, 7-6 (6) victory over Russia's Kamilla Rakhimova on Tuesday.
Swiatek, the 2022 US Open champion, converted three of six break-point chances but also racked up 41 unforced errors en route to securing the victory in 1 hour, 52 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The five-time Grand Slam champion built a 4-0 double-break lead and looked poised to run away with an easy win, but Rakhimova consolidated a break to get within a game before Swiatek went on to seal the first set with her third love hold of the match.
Swiatek consolidated an early break in the second set with another love hold for a 3-1 lead, but she suddenly began showing signs of frustration as her shots were off target and Rakhimova refused to back down.
"At the beginning [I felt] good, but then I got super tight ... so I was trying to get back to my game," Swiatek said in her postmatch on-court interview.
Swiatek had a chance to serve out the match, but Rakhimova broke to even the second set at 5-5. In the ensuing tiebreaker, Swiatek was one point away from being forced to a third set when Rakhimova took a 6-3 lead. But Swiatek recovered and won the next five points, finishing the match when her opponent missed a backhand.
Swiatek improved to 22-1 in first-round matches at Grand Slams, including 6-0 at the US Open. She next faces either Australia's Daria Saville or Japan's Ena Shibahara.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
