Iga Swiatek starts the defence of her US Open title with her world No 1 ranking under threat from Aryna Sabalenka
Iga Swiatek will open up Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open this year as she faces Rebecca Peterson of Sweden at midday on Monday, marking her first challenge as she attempts to defend both her title and her No 1 ranking from the looming threat of Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed.
Swiatek’s dominance on the WTA tour over the past 18 months presented her with a rare opportunity to equal a feat achieved by the imperious Steffi Graf. The Pole will look to become the first woman since Graf in 1996 to defend both Roland Garros and US Open titles in the same year. For Swiatek, there is a fine balance between taking confidence from last year’s performance and starting the event with a fresh slate.
“On one hand you always want to kind of take experience from last year, find all these positive things that happened, take strength from that,” Swiatek said. “On the other hand you have to remember that it’s a totally different story. A lot can happen during these 12 months. So I try to take everything step by step, not really go forward with my thoughts, think that I need to do something more because last year I won.
Some of the most interesting first-round draws include Elena Rybakina, the fourth seed, who will begin her campaign against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine and the clash between Sloane Stephens, the 2017 champion here, and the 19th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia. In the men’s draw, Novak Djokovic will return to competition at the US Open late on Monday night as he faces Alexandre Müller in the second match of the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
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