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Iga Swiatek and Daniil Medvedev remain one of the top favourites for 2023 Australian Open title.
World No.1 female tennis player, Iga Swiatek overcame the threat of Jule Niemeier, winning her first-round match 6-4 7-5 at the ongoing Australian Open
Niemeier looked sharp to win the second set at 5-3, but the top seed proved her mettle in style to eventually win the set.
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Swiatek was the overwhelming favourite before the match, having gone 14-1 record in major first-round fixtures. However, the Polish star wasn't anywhere near her top gear. But she was level-headed and managed to prevent the match from going into three sets.
"Pretty amazing. Despite being pretty nervous, I really enjoyed it," said Swiatek post-match.
"I just wanted to focus on myself, because I know Jule can serve amazing. At US Open, she was using the fast conditions, and again she was really putting pressure on me.
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"So I didn't want to think about that, but what I could do to push her back. I'm really happy that I kept this attitude and got through this round. An opponent like Jule is always tricky."
She will now face Colombian youngster Camila Osario in the second round, which will be the first meeting between both women.
Medvedev with a domineering victory over Marcos Giron
Daniil Medvedev had a great start in his first-round match against Marcos Giron, beating the American 6-0 6-1 6-2 in a tick over 90 minutes.
Despite some long games in the opening set, Medvedev found his stride and broke his opponent three times, before piling on the pressure for the rest of the match.
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He is the second favourite to win the tournament, behind Novak Djokovic and is looking to go one better than last year when he narrowly lost in the final to Rafael Nadal.
The Russian will play Australian John Millman in the next round on Wednesday.
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