The Pole star Iga Swiatek was unable to make it easy against local favorite Mai Hontama in their second-round encounter at the Tokyo Open on Wednesday. After two hours and two minutes, the top seed, who is now rated second in the world, won in straight sets 6-4, 7-5. Swiatek had a terrible start to the contest. The Pole swiftly fell two breaks behind the qualifier, giving the latter a 4-1 lead. Swiatek, on the other hand, overcame her sluggish start and turned the set around.

She won the following five games in a row to take the set and take the lead in the match. Swiatek fell behind a break in the first game of the second set, despite a shift of momentum late in the first set. She instantly regained the break and then broke Hontama twice more in the set, having the opportunity to serve for the victory in the seventh game.

Hontama then won four consecutive games to tie the set at five all. Hontama’s serve, however, was under duress in the 12th game, and Swiatek had a couple of match opportunities. In the end, the 24-year-old Japanese was unable to save them, allowing her opponent to go to the quarter-finals. Swiatek had a bad day when it came to earning first and second-serve points.

She won 22 of 42 points on her first serve, while her opponent won 26 of 59. She won exactly half of her second-serve points, compared to Hontama’s slightly better half. On Hontama’s serve, Swiatek generated 17 break-point opportunities, seven of which she converted. Swiatek, 22, saved four of the nine break points she faced. Swiatek, who was making her debut in Japan, reached to her 13th quarterfinal of 2023. She will play eighth-seeded Veronika Kudermetova in the quarter-finals. Kudermetova defeated Kayla Day 6-3, 6-3.

Jessica Pegula, the second seed, got off to a better start, defeating Cristina Busca 6-1, 6-2. Pegula produced 11 winners to the Spaniard’s 13. She also had 13 unforced errors to the latter’s 29. I thought I played very well, Pegula admitted on the court. The courts play pretty fast here, so I was just trying to focus on my serve and my return, and I thought I did that really well and was able to play a very clean match today, the 29-year-old American added. Pegula’s quarter-final opponent is yet to be decided.

Meanwhile, Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated defending champion Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 6-2.