Swiatek beats Kenin, faces Collins next in tough Aussie Open bracket

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek survived an early test of her Australian Open title hopes when she beat former champion Sofia Kenin 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the first round on Tuesday.

Kenin, the winner in 2020, served for the first set at 5-4 but could not close it out and Swiatek took it in the tiebreaker. The No. 1 seed then broke Kenin in the fifth game of the second set and held on to clinch victory.

“Really happy,” said Swiatek, who hit 30 winners. “It wasn’t easy to find my rhythm. I felt a little bit off and Sofia did everything to keep it that way, huge respect to her. I managed to get my level up in the second set.”

Swiatek, aiming for a fifth major title but first in Australia, faces another former finalist in her tough bracket at the top of the women's draw.

Danielle Collins, the runner-up here two years ago, beat 2016 champion Angelique Kerber 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.

“A tough little bracket that we have!” Collins said of the first two rounds. “I was like, ’wow, I get really great draws now. But if you’re trying to win a Grand Slam, you kind of have to beat everyone.”

Victoria Azarenka, who won back-to-back titles here in 2012 and '13, won a hard-hitting contest with Camila Giorgi of Italy, advancing 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. No. 11-seeded Jelena Ostapenko, the former French Open champion, beat Kimberley Birrell 7-6 (5), 6-1.

“Right into the tournament, right, playing against Camila, we know how dangerous she can be,” 18th-seeded Azarenka said. “I feel like I didn’t play my best tennis today but I am happy I was able to find my way around.”

Earlier, Sloane Stephens picked up her first win at the Australian Open since 2019 when she beat wild-card entry Olivia Gadecki 6-3, 6-1. The 30-year-old American, who won the U.S. Open in 2017, won five straight games from 2-0 down in the opening set and eased through the second to clinch victory in just under an hour.

“Pleased with the way I played,” said Stephens, who reached the semifinals of the event in 2013 but who has lost in the first round in seven of her past eight visits to Melbourne. “I’ve been working a lot on making the opponents play. I think that’s something I had got away from. Pleased with the win.”

Daria Kasatkina, who is seeded 14th and next plays Stephens, beat Peyton Stearns 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.