After losing the opening set against Katie Volynets, Sramkova probably dreaded another tournament-opening loss at a leading event; however, the world No. 49 fought back to claim sets two and three to secure a 3-6 6-2 6-2 victory.
After four first-round exits and several instances of not making it through qualifying, the Slovakian player will feature in the second round of a major for the first time, ironically at the venue of her Grand Slam debut in 2017.
While she enters Thursday’s meeting against Swiatek as the underdog, the 28-year-old’s prospects of an upset increase if she avoids giving away as many opportunities on her serve.
Although she converted seven of the 15 break-point opportunities she created, Sramkova lost serve four times against Volynets, highlighting some looseness on her deliveries.
Despite her seeming struggles Down Under, Swiatek is unlikely to be as slack on her serve, and it will be fascinating to watch how the first-time second-round participant holds her own against the second seed.
Defeating Katerina Siniakova in the opening round in straight sets (6-3 6-4) continued the 23-year-old’s run of tournament-opening victories at the leading events, with no player on the women’s tour surpassing Swiatek’s 20 consecutive first-round Slam triumphs since 2020.
The five-time Grand Slam champion, though, lost serve twice in her first-round success, suggesting some slackness in certain service games against her Czech opponent.
Contrarily, Swiatek was ruthless when she needed to be, converting four of five break opportunities to seal her second-round place, and she aims to keep building momentum by triumphing on Thursday; the second seed is keen to advance to another third round in her bid to silence naysayers who doubt her adeptness at problem-solving Down Under.
While she has won five Majors, including one at the US Open on hard courts, four have been at Roland Garros, with the Polish superstar only making it past the fourth round in Australia once, in 2022, when she advanced to the semi-finals.
A third-round loss to Linda Noskova 12 months ago followed Swiatek’s round-four elimination two years back, further highlighting why the jury is out on the 23-year-old Down Under despite winning 22 titles on the women’s tour.
