By Karolos Grohmann
PARIS (Reuters) -Defending champion Iga Swiatek cruised past Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia 6-3 6-3 and into the second round of the French Open on Monday, launching her quest for a record fourth straight women’s title.
The Pole, a four-time champion who is now on a 22-match winning run in Paris having won the last three titles, is looking to become the first female player to win four straight French Open crowns in the professional era since 1968.
She arrived more than 10 days before the tournament to get sufficient training on the clay courts and she said it has so far paid off.
“It was the first time we had this situation (of arriving early),” Swiatek said in a post-match interview. “But I liked it. I knew I am going to have the best courts to practice on.”
“It was not an easy match. She played with a lot of freedom. So I knew I need to stay proactive and try to create and use my weapons.”
Swiatek, unusually without a title on the tour so far this season, needed some time to find her footing, with the Slovak initially offering greater resistance than in her 6-0 6-2 loss to Swiatek at the Australian Open in January.
Sramkova held serve until Swiatek broke her to go 4-3 up and bag the first set a little later.
The 28-year-old world number 42 broke Swiatek at the start of the second set to open up a 2-0 lead but her opponent quickly reined her in with two breaks of her own, winning six of the next seven games to wrap up her win after an hour and 24 minutes.
She next faces Britain’s Emma Raducanu.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Alison Williams)
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