Iga Swiatek sets WTA 1000 record and matches Kim Clijsters feat with Dubai demolition
Iga Swiatek set and equalled a pair of records that illustrate her outstanding consistency with her opening victory at the Dubai Championships.
The world No 2 steamrolled two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka in her first match at the WTA 1000 event after a lengthy rain delay.
Swiatek broke the 35-year-old Belarusian six times and lost serve only once in a contest lasting an hour and 13 minutes.
The five-time major champion has improved her record against Azarenka, a former world No 1 who is currently ranked 34th, to 4-1.
In an on-court interview, Swiatek paid tribute to Azarenka’s career.
“She’s a legend. I have so much respect for her,” she said. “Her career is outstanding and she’s still playing super good, so I just wanted to be ready.
“And we played couple of times, so I was aware of how she plays, but yeah, I was ready for everything. I’m happy that I was solid and just focused and in the zone.”
Asked what she did during the rain delay, Swiatek said: “I just read a book. I got a quick nap. I started doing some legos. Then unfortunately I had to go and play… so legos had to wait (smiling).”
Swiatek now holds the highest win rate of any player in opening matches at WTA 1000 tournaments (90.9%) since the format was introduced in 2009. Her last loss in an opening WTA 1000 match was a defeat to Ons Jabeur at the 2022 Cincinnati Open.
The 23-year-old has won her first match at 51 consecutive tournaments, which makes her only the second woman this century after Kim Clijsters to accomplish this.
Swiatek, who is a 10-time WTA 1000 titlist, is aiming to win the Dubai Championships for the first time. She was a runner-up at the tournament in 2023 and a semi-finalist last year.
