Last week, Świątek kicked off the first Grand Slam tournament of 2026 by defeating China's Yue Yuan 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in the first round on Monday. She followed up by beating Czech Marie Bouzkova 6-2, 6-3 in the second on Thursday.
The round 3 Saturday duel was Iga's fourth match against Kalinskaya - and her third victory. The match began with Świątek's 3-0 lead, and in the first set, her opponent didn't seem to stand a chance. From 3-1, the Polish player won the next three games, and ultimately the set.
At this point, Iga's Moscow-born rival requested a medical timeout, and the on-court physiotherapist worked on her lower back - and she looked in much better shape when the match was resumed. Kalinskaya hit high-risk shots and made no mistakes. Meanwhile, Świątek got visibly worse in serving - and all this led to the second set ending as a mirror image of the first, but in Moscovite's favor.
Despite unexpectedly losing the second set, Iga seemed to remain calm and she started the next one with a confident game on her serve, which boded well for her. Meanwhile, Kalinskaya couldn't maintain the high level of play. The risky balls which previously brought her points started to fall slightly wide. She continued to take chances, but the match quickly slipped away from her. After 20 minutes, Świątek led 5-0, and she ended the whole affair with a 6-1 third set win after 1 hour 44 minutes, medical break included.
Iga's next opponent, Inglis, advanced to the round of 16 without stepping on court. Her opponent, Japanese Naomi Osaka coached by Poland's Tomasz Wiktorowski, withdrew due to injury. Świątek had only played Inglis once before, defeating her in 2021 in Adelaide.
The 28-year-old Australian, who qualified for her homeland's Grand Slam tournament, sits at a distant 168th position in the WTA rankings, and has never been ranked in the top 100. Facing Świątek on Monday, she will be playing in the round of 16 of a tournament of this stature for the first time.
Świątek, on the other hand, arrived in Australia as a six-time Grand Slam champion, following her last year's triumph at Wimbledon. A victory at the Australian Open will mean completing the "Career Slam," as she has also won four times at the French Open and once at the US Open.
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Source: PAP