World number one Iga Swiatek made an emphatic statement with a 54-minute rout of Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa to seal her progression to the Australian Open fourth round on Friday.
Swiatek dropped only six points in a 22-minute first set, before completing a 6-0 6-1 demolition over her 25-year-old opponent at Margaret Court Arena.
The Pole led 6-0 5-0, prompting a crowd member to shout "open the bakery", before Bucsa held her serve to avoid a dreaded double bagel.
Swiatek's victory sets up a fourth-round clash with 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, as the Pole chases her fourth major triumph, including the French Open and US Open crowns last year.
The 21-year-old completely outclassed her opponent, winning 82 per cent of serve points, along with 65 per cent on return, including 71 per cent on Bucsa's second serve. The Spaniard only won 19 of 71 points for the match.
Despite an unconvincing first-serve percentage of 59 per cent, Swiatek never offered up a break point, hitting 15 winners throughout the lopsided contest.
Swiatek has not dropped a set in her three matches at the tournament, giving up only six games in her past two matches.
Data slam: Swiatek demolition falls short of Barty mark
Swiatek's swift victory coincidentally came on the afternoon after Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis battled until 4am local time in a five-hour-and-50-minute epic in the men's singles.
However, the Pole's 54-minute win was not as brief as last year's champion Ash Barty who disposed of Danka Kovinic 6-0 6-0 in 44 minutes at the 2021 Australian Open.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Swiatek – 15/6
Bucsa – 4/21
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Swiatek – 3/0
Bucsa – 1/3
BREAK POINTS WON
Swiatek – 5/10
Bucsa – 0/0
Federer hopes Nadal continues his career into 2025
Roger Federer believes it would be "phenomenal" if Rafael Nadal prolonged his career into 2025 but admits it is up to the Spaniard himself to make that choice.
Nadal last played at the Paris Olympics, where he competed in both singles and doubles, and has since ruled himself out of the US Open and Laver Cup.
It is still uncertain whether the 22-time grand slam champion will continue to play next season, but his long-time rival Federer would love for him to play on for just a bit longer.
When asked how he felt about Nadal pulling out of the Laver Cup, Federer told dta: "I really hoped he would somehow get a match in the end, but he just said he'd rather not do it, and that he doesn't feel ready.
"But he seems good. I think he just has to decide what to do next, and I think that's what he's going through at the moment. He's done everything for the sport.
"It would be phenomenal if he could go on for another season, but only Rafa himself can answer that. In the end, it might be helpful to make a decision at some point."
Furthermore, the eight-time Wimbledon champion still believes Novak Djokovic is one of the favourites for next year's Australian Open, despite the Serb not picking up a Grand Slam title this season for the first time since 2017.
He said: "Novak, winning the Olympics and playing somewhat, let's say a full season - he didn't bow out because of injuries, he chose to play less, which is normal when you get a bit older.
"I feel like he has chances moving forward. I look forward to Australia, which is the next Slam. I think [Novak is] definitely going to be one of the favourites along with [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz."
Djokovic is a 10-time champion in Melbourne but fell to defeat against Jannik Sinner in this year's semi-finals.
His next event will be at the Shanghai Masters, which commences on October 2.
Raducanu roars through to Korea Open quarter-finals
Emma Raducanu booked her place in the Korea Open quarter-finals with a straight-sets victory over Yue Yuan.
The former US Open champion wrapped up a 6-4 6-3 win in just over two hours in Seoul, where she will play either top seed Daria Kasatkina or Hailey Baptiste.
Yue, who was runner-up in this event 12 months ago, recovered an early break to hold a slender 4-3 lead in the opening set.
However, Raducanu took control with a run of six successive games to draw first blood, before taking control of the second set with a double-break for 3-0.
Yue fought back to 3-2, but saw a break point go begging in the following game as the Briton eventually held to remain in command.
Raducanu had to be patient as her opponent saved five match points to break in game eight, but the world number 70 eventually converted her seventh for victory.
Data Debrief: Raducanu roars into last eight
Raducanu has spoken of how she intends to "thrive in Asia" and she is in a good position to do that after reaching her fifth quarter-final of 2024.
The Briton certainly dominated on the serving front as she hammered 11 aces without reply, while also converting six out of nine break points.
Raducanu fights through tough Stearns test to progress in Seoul
Emma Raducanu dug deep to grind out a marathon straight-sets victory over Peyton Stearns to progress at the Korea Open on Tuesday.
The Brit, who reached the semi-finals in 2022, needed two tie-breaks to win, holding off Stearns 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) in two hours and 46 minutes.
The play was delayed for 45 minutes due to excessive heat before the pair traded breaks in the opening three games, with Raducanu at one point holding a 4-1 lead before Stearns fought back to force the first tie-break.
Raducanu prevailed but was put straight back under pressure in a lengthy opening game of the second set, saving break point three times to get off the mark.
There was little to separate the two throughout though, as they continued to trade breaks before the 2021 US Open champion found her edge again to take the tie-break.
She will face last year's Korea Open runner-up Yuan Yue in the next round.
Data Debrief: Going the distance
Raducanu was playing her first match since being knocked out of the US Open, and she was certainly made to work for the victory.
It featured a combined tally of 28 break points and 12 breaks of serve, with eight of those coming in a topsy-turvy first set.
Raducanu successfully saved nine of 15 break points compared to seven of 13 for Stearns.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
