• Iga Swiatek defeats Niemeier 6-4, 7-5 in her Australian Open 2023 debut.
• Elena Rybakina defeats Elisabetta Cocciaretto to reach second round.
• Wimbledon champion will play Camila Osorio of Colombia.

Iga Swiatek, the current world number one, defeated Germany’s Jule Niemeier on Monday by scores of 6-4, 7-5 to start her Australian Open 2023 campaign.

On Wednesday, Swiatek will compete against Camila Osorio of Colombia.

Swiatek, a semifinalist in Melbourne the previous year, put a lot of effort into her debut. The German once again proved to be a difficult opponent for the World No.1 after the 21-year-old made it clear before the competition that she would not taking Niemeier lightly.

Niemeier and Swiatek were up against one other for the second straight Slam, and in their previous match in the US Open Round of 16 Niemeier had already taken Swiatek to three sets.

Throughout the first set, Niemeier applied consistent pressure to Swiatek’s serve, but when the Pole needed a clutch serve or a powerful backhand down the line, the shots were successful. Despite the pressure, Swiatek saved both of her break points and went on to win the first set by breaking the German’s serve for the first time.

In the second set, Niemeier recovered swiftly, breaking Swiatek’s service once to take a 3-1 lead and flirting with a double-break advantage. However, the Pole came through in a pinch once more to recover from a 2-0 game and cut the deficit to 3-2.

Niemeier, who was serving to force a match-deciding match, was broken in Swiatek’s greatest return game of the match, tying the score at 5-5. After 1 hour and 59 minutes, Swiatek played a superb return game to seal her four-game lead and win. She then held at love to extend her lead to 6-5.

In a different match, Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto 7-5, 6-3 at 1 hour and 23 minutes to maintain her perfect record in the Australian Open first round.