MADRID -- World No.1 Iga Swiatek opened her quest for a first Mutua Madrid Open with a clinical display against No.52 Wang Xiyu, easing through a 6-1, 6-4 victory in the second round.
Swiatek will face 27th seed Sorana Cirstea in the third round Saturday.
Madrid remains the only big European clay title that Swiatek has yet to win, let alone win multiple times. The 22-year-old is already a three-time champion at Roland Garros and a two-time champion at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia and Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Of those clay events at the WTA 500 level or above, Madrid is also the one she's played the fewest.
This will be only her third run at the Madrid title. Swiatek made her tournament debut in 2021 and skipped the event during her 37-match, six-title win streak in 2022. Last year she came within a set of completing her clay-court collection, losing 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
"I love this place," she said. "I got to know the city a little better last year. So this time I feel more comfortable around."
With Lindsay Vonn keeping a close eye from the lower box seats, Swiatek inaugurated her 100th week at World No.1 with a comfortable baseline display. Wang booked her first meeting against Swiatek by saving match points to defeat Ana Bogdan in the first round on Tuesday.
Swiatek won 10 of the first 12 games to build a 6-1, 4-1 lead before Wang leveled the set to 4-4. But there was no sense of worry for Swiatek. She sealed the 76-minute win by breaking Wang for a fifth time to close the match.
"In the second set, I'm not happy with these two games where my intensity got a little bit down, but overall I knew what I had to do. I'm happy that I came back on the nice track and I finished with a nice score."
The unique challenges in Madrid are not a surprise to anyone. The majority of top players are coming from playing on indoor clay in Stuttgart. Madrid is played at a high altitude, meaning the balls can be tougher to control. The weather has been unseasonably cool in Europe this year, which adds an additional variable. Scheduling has also been a challenge, with players being slotted unpredictably across day and night sessions.
"Obviously [winning Madrid would mean] a lot," Swiatek said. "Winning any tournament like that, a big one, is a big thing. It's not something you get used to. You always want to fight for it."
But Swiatek dismissed the suggestion that completing her set of clay-court steak knives was weighing on her mind in Madrid.
"I don't think that way," Swiatek said. "Basically, I don't think about winning at the beginning anyway.
"Obviously every tournament has different atmosphere and is special in its own way. But on the other hand, it's a WTA 1000, and it doesn't really matter at the end which one I'm going to win. Every big tournament I win is going to give me confidence no matter where it is or what it looks like.
"So I don't really mind. I'm going to try to win every tournament I play at and that's all."
