Images from the US Open women's singles second round matches, at Flushing Meadows, New York, on Thursday.
Iga Swiatek made quick work of Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara in a 6-0, 6-1 victory in the second round on Thursday to underline her title credentials at the US Open.
Swiatek survived a slight scare in the first round when she committed a slew of unforced errors before sealing a hard-fought victory over Russian Kamilla Rakhimova, but against Shibahara, she was clinical and swatted her Japanese opponent aside in just over an hour.
"I'm playing, you know, not overpowering (tennis), but trying to be really solid and picking the right shots and being proactive. I'm happy with everything," Swiatek said in her on-court interview.
"I just felt the rhythm much better. I was a bit tense in my last match, so today I just wanted to focus on the right things and focus on myself."
The Pole served with real accuracy in the first set, winning 89% of points on her first serve and converting three out of four break-point opportunities to race into the lead against a frustrated Shibahara, who had no answers.
Japan's Shibahara, ranked outside the top 200 and in her first singles Grand Slam main draw, tried to turn things around in the second set and defended three break-points in a marathon service game to hold for 1-1 and avoid the dreaded 'double bagel'.
That was the extent of her resistance, however, as Swiatek won the next five games in a row to clinch victory.
Swiatek, who won the third of her five Grand Slams at Flushing Meadows, is next in action in a third-round tie against either Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy.(
