No.1 Swiatek won the season opener at the United Cup in Brisbane

World number one Iga Swiatek showed no signs of rust in her first match of the 2023 season as she beat Yulia Putintseva 6-1, 6-3 at the United Cup. The win gave No. 2 Poland a 1-0 lead over Kazakhstan, but Timofey Skatov leveled the score hours later with a 7-6(7), 6-2 win over Daniel Michalski.

With Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska watching from the captain’s box, Swiatek needed just three games to find the rhythm and range that would make her the 2022 Hologic WTA Tour Player of the Year. Putintseva earned an early break point opportunity in Swiatek’s first game, but the Pole coolly erased it with a set point.

“I’m pretty happy with my performance,” Swiatek said. “The first matches of the season are always rusty. I was happy that I was in really good shape at the important moments.”

Again under pressure, serving at 1-1, 0-30, Swiatek found second gear to reel off 12 straight points for a 4-1 lead. After committing six unforced errors in the first three games, Swiatek committed just one break during the set and headed the set after 27 minutes.

Swiatek highlighted the reputation in the second leg of the tour’s front row. Keeping Putintseva at bay in the early games, Swiatek broke to 3-2 and held on to win after 64 minutes. Swiatek finished the match with 22 groundstroke winners – 17 on the forehand alone – to Putintseva’s just five.

The win improved Swiatek’s head-to-head record against Putintseva to 2-0.

Skatov leveled the tie with a grueling win over Michalski. The first set proved critical, with long, grinding rallies leading to a match that lasted two hours and 11 minutes.

It was a really tough match, but actually my captains weren’t happy because he said I played too long, Skatov said, referring to Kazakhstan captain Alexander Bublik, who was laughing in the team area. Today is the new year and let’s celebrate a little! But ok, I tried to play as fast as possible.

Ranked 142 in the world, Skatov saved all five break points he faced against Michalski to earn his first United Cup victory. The 21-year-old had lost his first No. 2 men’s singles match of the week in three sets to Switzerland’s Marc-Andrea Huesler.

The tie continues Sunday night when Bublik takes on Polish star Hubert Hurkacz in the men’s singles No. 1. Hurkacz leads the pair 3-1 in the ATP Head2Head series.

Poland’s Magda Linette will then play crowd favorite Zhibek Kulambayeva in the women’s No. 2 singles before a potential decider in the mixed doubles at Pat Rafter Arena.

The United Cup is a new mixed team event featuring 18 nations in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney. Played over two days, the draw consists of two ATP and two WTA matches, as well as one mixed singles match.