Iga Swiatek steamrolled France’s Diane Parry in the second round at the expense of just two games.
Plenty were more or less rolling out the red carpet for Iga Swiatek before the Olympics had even started.
The Pole is the odds-on favorite to secure Olympic gold, especially after Coco Gauff’s controversial defeat to Donna Vekic on Tuesday.
Swiatek has produced pure magic on the clay this year, collecting her third consecutive French Open title in June becoming the first woman since Justine Henin to win three in row.
Along with her titles in Madrid and Rome, the world number one has looked supremely solid so far, with her varied and dynamic game proving too strong.
The Pole came under a little scrutiny however before she’d even stepped on-court, with her absence at the opening ceremony coming under the microscope.
Andy Roddick has been staunch in his defense of Swiatek’s decision
With the Olympic opening ceremony nearly always a magnificent, eye-catching display of tradition and pageantry, Swiatek decided against walking with Poland.
After some criticism, Andy Roddick defended the world number one on his podcast ‘Served’.
He said: “You watch it on TV and it is amazing and you feel this pride and the event comes together. What they don’t show you is that you have to stand backstage for 12 hours to walk.
“So people are like ‘Iga is not walking’. But, no, she is the favorite to win the gold medal. Why would she do a single thing to interrupt the fact she is the favorite at a place she wins all the time? Why would she throw outliers into her quest for the gold medal? What’s her priority – to take a walk, or to win a medal?
“There are matches to be played. Are you going to sacrifice a day of practice or a day of a match and I didn’t do it. The scheduling and everything with tennis, the schedule is truncated.
“So when people are saying that Iga is not going to walk! No, the goal is to go to the Olympics and not take a walk. They are going to win gold medals. How are we going to be like they should be walking, ‘I would walk if I was there’. No, you wouldn’t. Not if you were a primed Olympic athlete who is favourite to win a gold medal.”
Admitting that he didn’t walk during the Athens opening ceremony, Roddick sympathized with Swiatek’s decision to prioritize her time and tennis ahead of walking in the ceremony.
A gold medal for Poland would be the perfect response from Iga Swiatek
Swiatek is primed and ready to secure her Olympic glory, and likely one of Poland’s few golds, with the nation securing four in Tokyo.
Poland have seen their top man in the singles pull out through injury, with Hubert Hurkacz out until 2025 after a knee issue sustained at Wimbledon.
With the top seeds falling and her two other main rivals in Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina also absent, the Pole is predicted to ease to the gold.
The criticism would likely have had little effect on Swiatek, with the Pole hoping to tee up the perfect, golden response.
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