Australian Open: Iga Swiatek hits her stride in smooth second-round win

The 24-year-old second seed won 6-2, 6-3, showing a marked improvement from her opening-round performance as she continues her pursuit of a first Australian Open title and a coveted career Grand Slam.

Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, showed no signs of the sluggishness that had troubled her earlier in the tournament.

After arriving in Melbourne on the back of two defeats during Poland's ultimately successful United Cup campaign, Swiatek had been forced to battle hard against Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue in the previous round.

Against Bouzkova, however, she raised the intensity early and eased through the first set, using several effective forays to the net to take control of the match.

The second set proved more competitive, with Bouzkova edging into a 3-1 lead. Swiatek responded calmly, recovering to level after six games before hitting a decisive forehand winner at the net to move ahead. From there, she maintained her momentum and sealed the match without further alarm.

The win sets up a third-round meeting with 31st seed Anna Kalinskaya.

"It felt great playing today, I felt more free than in the first round so I wanted to go for it," said Swiatek.

"The conditions were not easy, I don't know if you can tell. It's super windy, so I needed to adjust to that so I'm happy for the performance for sure.

"This is not going to sound like I'm humble, but after winning so much, it's hard to appreciate one match. I'm usually happy after I finish the whole tournament if I win.

"If not, I'm a bit less happy but I for sure have to learn to appreciate every match and not take everything for granted and play to win. It was a good day today and I felt good." 

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