Iga Swiatek began her bid for another China Open crown with a controlled 6-2, 6-3 defeat of Beijing wild card Xinyu Gao on Saturday, moving into the third round of the WTA 1000 hard-court event.
The eighth-seeded Pole, champion in Beijing in 2023 and currently ranked No. 9, needed 1 hour and 27 minutes to overcome the 244th-ranked Gao. It was Swiatek’s ninth victory in her first 10 appearances at the tournament.
Quick facts
- Result: No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek beat Xinyu Gao 6-2, 6-3.
- Round: Second round of the China Open in Beijing.
- Match time: 1 hour, 27 minutes.
- Break-point conversion: Swiatek took five of eight chances; Gao converted her only opportunity.
- Next opponent: No. 30 seed Donna Vekic, whom Swiatek leads 4-0 head-to-head.
Gao made an early impression by trading breaks with the former champion, but Swiatek quickly established command. The Pole secured two further breaks in the opener to take it 6-2.
Swiatek again broke twice in the second set, while Gao could not create another break-point chance after her success earlier in the match. The seed closed out the contest 6-3 to continue her run through the Beijing draw.
The result marked Swiatek’s sixth opening-match win from seven WTA 1000 tournaments this season. Her only defeat in a first match at this level came in Miami, where Magda Linette beat her.
She also improved to six wins in seven matches this year against players ranked outside the Top 100. The exception was her US Open fourth-round loss to Zheng Qinwen, then ranked No. 121.
Swiatek’s nine wins from 10 China Open matches put her level with Coco Gauff and Svetlana Kuznetsova for the best record over a player’s first 10 matches at the event.
Vekic awaits after the Croatian 30th seed dismissed Chinese wild card Lin Zhu 6-4, 6-2. Swiatek has won all four previous meetings with Vekic, including three in straight sets, and their Beijing match will be their fourth encounter on hard courts.
