World No. 8 Swiatek comfortably defeated Podoroska 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the third round of the US Open.

The 25-year-old Pole, who won the tournament title in 2022, took advantage of the only break-point opportunity she had in the opening set to move 3-1 ahead against an opponent who was once ranked among the world’s top 40 but has since slipped to 449th in the rankings.

The two players had not met since the semi-finals of the 2020 French Open, when Swiatek won the first Grand Slam title of her career.

Aside from a difficult spell at 5-3, when she had to save four break points, Swiatek enjoyed a calm finish to the opening set. She continued her flawless performance by breaking Podoroska’s serve at the start of the second set to move 1-0 ahead and then 2-0.

A few games later, she strengthened her path to the third round with a second break for a 4-1 lead, before closing out the match in one hour and 11 minutes on her first match point.
The former world No. 1 will face Czech player Marie Bouzkova in the next round on Saturday. Bouzkova defeated Britain’s Harriet Dart 6-2, 6-2.

In the men’s draw, Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, was eliminated in the second round after losing to Russia’s Karen Khachanov, ranked 50th, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 2-6, 2-6 in three hours and 17 minutes.

The early exit of the 26-year-old, who reached the semi-finals of the tournament twice, in 2021 and 2025, was a surprise, particularly as he had been placed in what was considered a relatively less difficult section of the draw.

Against Khachanov, who reached the semi-finals of the tournament in 2022, the Canadian won a fiercely contested opening set before collapsing physically and in terms of performance.