Iga Swiatek did not enjoy quite the smooth homecoming many had anticipated against Nigina Abduraimova, a 29-year-old Uzbek ranked 180 places below her, yet that will barely have mattered to the locals.
Wherever she goes in the world, Swiatek is invariably accompanied by an army of Polish supporters but, for once, as the world No 1 opened her campaign at the fledgling Warsaw Open, no globe-trotting was required. There was barely a seat to be had in the 4,000-seat arena at the Legia Tennis Centre as Swiatek took to the match court for the first time since her Wimbledon quarter-final defeat to Elina Svitolina a fortnight ago. The ovation was rapturous, expectations correspondingly high. “Iga Smiga,” read one banner – “Sail, Iga” – yet choppy waters lay ahead for the French and US Open champion.
Given that Abduraimova has yet to win a main draw match on the WTA Tour this season, the smart money was on a comprehensive victory for the home favourite. Abduraimova can play, however, as she demonstrated earlier this year by winning an ITF event in Oeiras, Portugal, and she offered stubborn resistance over the 95 minutes that followed.
Far from overwhelmed by the prospect of facing the world’s best player at a club she once called home, Abduraimova embraced her moment in the limelight, keeping Swiatek at bay with her powerful serve and potent backhand as she cancelled out breaks in both sets before the top seed finally prevailed 6-4, 6-3.
It was Swiatek’s first outing on a hard court since she was beaten by Elena Rybakina in the Indian Wells semi-finals on 18 March, and there were understandable signs of ring rust as the 22-year-old struggled at times to find her customary rhythm and timing. As she acknowledged afterwards, her difficulties were compounded by the swift transition from grass to hard courts, and by the additional pressure of wanting to do well in front of her own people at an event where she suffered a shock quarter-final defeat to Caroline Garcia last year in one of the season’s finest matches.
“It’s a pretty special tournament and not an easy one to play, I’ve got to say, a little bit different stress than usual,” said Swiatek.
“But I’m happy to have a chance to play in front of the Polish crowds, because they’re kind of following me in every place I play but, for sure, in Warsaw it’s even better, it’s amazing.
“First rounds aren’t easy, and anybody who knows a little bit about tennis will tell you that it’s harder to play at home. But for sure, you know, coming from grass courts, which is the fastest surface, to these kinds of hard courts, a player needs a little bit more [time] to adjust.”
Swiatek is wont to make short work of lower-ranked opponents in the early rounds of tournaments, and her pursuit of a fourth title of the year began in auspicious fashion when she produced a glorious crosscourt backhand winner on the way to carving out an early break point. But this was not to be a day for bagels and breadsticks. An overhit return from Swiatek handed Abduraimova a reprieve, and although she went on to concede the first break with a double-fault in the fifth game, the bells that simultaneously chimed out from the nearby Church of the Holy Cross did not signal immediate doom.
Instead, as Swiatek served for a 5-3 lead, she committed a spate of unforced errors, losing five straight points from 40-0 up. Normal service was soon resumed, the Pole reeling off the next two games for the loss of just two points before forging ahead 5-1 in the second set. Once again, though, Abduraimova was not done. Having gamely fended off three match points to hold serve, the Uzbek capitalised on another flurry of Swiatek mistakes to narrow the gap further. But in the ninth game, Abduraimova’s 10th double-fault of the day brought up two match points for Swiatek, bringing the curtain down on an entertaining contest.
“For sure I need to work out some stuff, but hopefully I’m going to play better and better every day,” said Swiatek.
Seeded to face the rising Czech star Linda Noskova in the last eight ahead of an anticipated rematch with Karolina Muchova, who pushed her close in last month’s French Open final, such improvement will be needful for Swiatek. Muchova, seeded second, opened her own title challenge with a 4-6, 7-6 (7-0), 6-3 victory over Aliaksandra Sasnovich.