By Julien Pretot, Reuters.
Photo Credit: Pete Kiehart.
World number three Iga Swiatek continued her bid to rediscover her best form at the French Open on Wednesday, reaching the third round with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Czech Sara Bejlek in a match littered with unforced errors.
The four-times champion, who has lost only twice at Roland Garros since 2020, had far too much quality for her opponent but made 38 unforced errors, including a series of double faults.
Swiatek explained her lack of precision by the nature of the opposition.
“She was pretty good in defence, and I had many opportunities to attack. Sometimes even too many. So when you attack, you’re going to make more mistakes, because it’s easier to push the ball back than to actually add a lot of energy to it and try to open the court,” the 24-year-old told reporters.
“So, yes, sometimes I made some mistakes while playing these high balls, because the ball is jumping quite high. It’s not easy to judge if it’s the one that you should go or stay back and wait for the next one.
“The rhythm wasn’t quite obvious. But I didn’t mind. I wanted to be flexible and adjust and play my game. I had some moments where the mistakes happened, but at the end I feel like I was the one who had control over the game, and it was up to me if I’m going to finish these points or make a mistake.”
Swiatek will next face either former champion Jelena Ostapenko or fellow Pole Magda Linette for a place in the last 16.
After an early exchange of breaks, Swiatek surged into a 5-1 lead on a sun-drenched Court Philippe Chatrier before gifting world number 35 Bejlek another break with a double fault in the seventh game.
The Pole repeatedly confused pace with haste but still claimed the opening set comfortably despite spraying 19 unforced errors.
Five of the opening eight games in the second set went against serve in a scrappy contest before Swiatek finally sealed victory when Bejlek dumped a forehand into the net.