Iga Swiatek cruises past Sara Bejlek to reach WTA Toronto third round

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/bejlek-s-jVCKq0LH/swiatek-i-jNyZsXZe/?mid=trmLt3Xo"]In her first match[/a] since her Wimbledon title defense ended with a third-round exit, Poland's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/swiatek-iga/jNyZsXZe/"]Swiatek[/a] was rolling through the first nine games, appearing in total control with a double-break for a 3-0 lead in the second.[/p][p]But her Czech opponent dug in, using off-speed balls and some well-judged volleys to disrupt Swiatek's rhythm, winning two straight games before Swiatek pulled off a great escape -- fending off nine break points in a 22-minute sixth game to hold serve for a 4-2 lead.[/p][p][b]"It was quite a weird game I've got to say," [/b]Swiatek gold Tennis Channel.[b] "Not easy to finish it. There was much more running, much more different change of rhythm and different solutions that we used during that game.[/b][/p][p]"I felt like we both were kind of changing the rhythm and the pace all the time, so sometimes it was hard to adjust to it.[/p][p][b]"I'm happy that I stayed in the game and stayed solid because I felt at the end it got pretty physical."[/b][/p][embed guid="2619335c-4923-4b32-ad0e-95925ee9d4d6" url="https://x.com/WTA/status/2084716103960289388" social-type="twitter" /][p]Swiatek has slipped from third in the world at this time last year to her current eighth.[/p][p]Her Wimbledon disappointment came just four weeks after the four-time French Open champion bowed out in the last 16 at Roland Garros.[/p][p]In fact, Swiatek has yet to reach a Tour-level final this season and is hoping a late surge over the North American hard court campaign capped by the US Open will prevent her from finishing the calendar year without a title for the first time since 2020 -- the year she won the first of her six Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros.[/p][p]She took some of the extra time after Wimbledon to work on technical aspects of her game, saying she's been working on her rhythm and not rushing on the court.[/p][p][b]"I feel like for sure in practices I already have these new habits in me. Sometimes during the match you've just got to focus even more to not let these old patterns come back."[/b][/p][p]World number one [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Aryna Sabalenka[/a] was due to open her campaign on Tuesday night with a second-round clash against Japanese qualifier [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/uchijima-moyuka/K25VJT7h/"]Moyuka Uchijima[/a].[/p][p]Sabalenka is also looking to bounce back on the hard courts of North America after falling in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and in the round of 16 at Wimbledon.[/p][p]The Belarusian star has dominated on the surface this year, winning 23 of her 24 matches on hard courts -- the lone defeat her loss to Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final.[/p][p]In other early matches, ninth-seeded Ukrainian [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/monfils-elina/jyngIesG/"]Elina Svitolina[/a] rallied from a set and a break down to beat Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/bouzas-maneiro-j-Gj20DdaG/svitolina-e-jyngIesG/?mid=t44qNdJb"]6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-4[/a].[/p][embed guid="4b75004a-88bf-4d9a-b1f6-69a48eb75a9b" url="https://x.com/WTA/status/2084704508454535474" social-type="twitter" /][p]Ukraine's French Open finalist Marta Kostyuk was also in action, taking on Canadian wild card [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sebov-katherine/p2l29WXE/"]Katherine Sebov[/a].[/p]