Iga Swiatek is through to the next round of the Canadian Open after a comprehensive opening win in Montreal.
The former world number one is looking to continue her excellent form in Canada after winning Wimbledon for the first time earlier in July.
Swiatek was dominant at Wimbledon. Despite her previous struggles on grass, the Pole showed no weaknesses, losing just two games in the last two matches of the tournament.
The 24-year-old, seeded second at the Canadian Open, defeated Hanyu Guo 6-3 6-1 in the second round of Montreal.
Following Swiatek’s victory, it was revealed that she is just one win away from achieving something for the first time since 1996.
Iga Swiatek has won 63 straight opening matches at WTA Tour events
Iga Swiatek seems to be making history on an almost daily basis. Swiatek’s victory over Guo marked new territory for the Pole at WTA Tour events.
As per OptaAce, Iga Swiatek is the first player to win 63 consecutive opening matches at WTA events [including the United Cup and WTA Finals] since Monica Seles.
Seles won 64 consecutive opening matches at WTA Tour events between Washington 1990 and Oakland 1996.
This means Swiatek is just one win away from matching the great Monica Seles, and she may accomplish the feat if she can win her opening round at August’s Cincinnati Open.
However, Swiatek still has some work to do to catch Monica Seles when considering their Grand Slam titles. The Pole has won six so far in her career, while Seles won nine.
Seles was a remarkable player whose career was greatly hampered by a terrible incident at the 1993 US Open. It is worth taking a closer look at her remarkable achievements during a golden era of women’s tennis.
The achievements of Monica Seles
Yugoslavian legend Monica Seles caught the eye of coaching icon Nick Bollettieri after she won the Orange Bowl at just 11 years old.
At age 15, Seles turned professional and won her first tour title in Houston, defeating Chris Evert in the final. She then faced Steffi Graf in the French Open semi-finals later that year before finishing the year as world number six.
Seles won her first Grand Slam at just 16 years old: the 1990 French Open. She went on to win eight more Grand Slam titles throughout her career, while spending 178 weeks at world number one.
Seles retired in 2008 before being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009.
