Ruthless Swiatek dishes out double bagel to Wang

Poland's Iga Swiatek in action during her third round match against China's Xinyu WangReuters

Top seed Iga Swiatek of Poland pulverised Wang Xinyu of China 6-0 6-0 on Saturday with a flawless display to stay firmly on course to successfully defend her French Open title and fire a warning to her rivals.

Swiatek, aiming to win her third trophy in Paris in five years, showed no weaknesses as she cruised into the fourth round.

She has now dropped just eight games in her three matches in Paris, while winning four of the six sets she has played to love.

"For sure, I am happy. It was a very strong performance from me and I was happy I was disciplined and took care of everything," Swiatek said.

"Every point is important for me and at the highest level every point matters," the 22-year-old world number one added. "You always have to be kind of disciplined.

Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning against China's Wang Xinyu at the end of their women's singles match on day seven of the Roland-Garros Open tennis tournament at the Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris on 3 June, 20023
AFP

"I am going to use that skill later when I have tight matches."

She wasted little time to show who was in charge, breaking the Chinese world number 80 three times to seal the first set in 28 minutes.

Wang's strong forehand was supposed to be a major weapon but instead it let her down, with the Chinese piling up a dozen unforced errors en route to the first of two bagels.

Swiatek, who had also managed the double bagel feat in Rome last month, refused to be drawn into Wang's power rallies and instead made her opponent run.

Poland's Iga Swiatek reacts as she plays against China's Wang Xinyu during their women's singles match on day seven of the Roland-Garros Open tennis tournament at the Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris on 3 June, 2023
AFP

She ended her masterclass after 51 minutes with a lucky net cord on her first match point.