Tim Henman says what he’s found ‘frightening’ about Iga Swiatek at the Australian Open so far

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Iga Swiatek is mounting a fantastic Australian Open title challenge, with the Pole having stormed into the quarter-finals without dropping a single set.

Swiatek was handed a tricky Australian Open draw, but the WTA number two has eased past her opponents thus far.

The Pole beat Eva Lys 6-0, 6-1 in round four, with Swiatek having beaten Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-0 in round three.

Those Swiatek wins came after round one and round two triumphs over Katerina Siniakova and Rebecca Sramkova, who she beat 6-3, 6-4 and 6-0, 6-2 respectively.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka has been in similarly formidable form at the Australian Open, as has number three Coco Gauff.

Tim Henman labels Iga Swiatek’s Australian Open run ‘frightening’

But five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek has really caught the eye of Tim Henman at the competition so far, with Emma Navarro now awaiting her in the quarter-final.

“It has been a frightening performance so far this tournament from Swiatek,” the former British number one said on Eurosport.

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“I think in some instances you would say that she needs a bit more of a challenge to deal with adversity in the match but I think because she has such an enormous amount of Grand Slam experience, she will just be happy that she is playing such a consistently high quality of tennis but also she is remaining so fresh.

“I am sure her team understands that the challenges are going to get tougher and tougher now, but she looks confident and when she said in her interview before the match ‘I am feeling much less stressed’, I think that is such a good sign.

“Because there are so many times I watch Swiatek and she is winning and she is such a great player but it looks stressful out there, so she will be delighted with her four matches so far.”

Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff Australian Open playing time so far

It seems that the Pole has been getting progressively better at the Australian Open this month, having just secured another quarter-final spot. Swiatek has only dropped 11 games throughout the tournament to date.

Her best previous result in Melbourne came with a semi-final run in 2022, with an improved finish certainly on the cards this time around.

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She already boasts a hard-court Grand Slam title thanks to her 2022 US Open success, but her other four triumphs have all come on the clay courts of the French Open.

And while she might just need a more competitive challenge in Melbourne sooner rather than later, Swiatek certainly shouldn’t be worrying about fatigue at this moment in time.