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Iga Swiatek could be in line to break a Serena Williams record after surviving a second-set wobble to reach round three at the Cincinnati Open.
After receiving a round one bye, Swiatek saw off French qualifier Varvara Gracheva 6-0, 6-7(8), 6-2 to keep her quest for a first title at the tournament alive.
However, the scoreline, while showing it was a battle at stages, does not tell the full story outright.
The world No 1 led 6-0, 5-2 at one stage and held five match points in the second set, though was pegged back and forced into a decider.
But the five-time major winner held her ground and bounced back in the decider to set up a round three clash versus 15th seed Marta Kostyuk.
“Honestly, I knew I had the game to win it because I had five match points,” she said on court afterwards.
“It was my fault that I didn’t close it – but it happens.
“I didn’t want to have any regrets. I looked forward and tried to take a lesson from what happened and start playing differently, in the same way I played the beginning of the match.”
Victory for Swiatek continues her fine form at WTA 1000 events in 2024, with four titles at that level to her name coming into Cincinnati.
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The Pole was triumphant at Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid, and Rome, and other strong results include a semi-final run in Dubai.
She now has 28 wins at that level this season, eclipsing her previous best total of 27 from 2023.
And that has put her in striking distance of Williams’ record for most WTA 1000 wins in an individual calendar year.
The American picked up a staggering 36 WTA 1000 match wins in 2013, in one of the most impressive seasons of her legendary career.
However, Swiatek now has a genuine chance of beating that tally.
The world No 1 has an opportunity to potentially pick up another four wins in Cincinnati – hypothetically winning the title in the process – and then has two more WTA 1000 events to play in 2024.
Swiatek will go into the China Open as the defending champion in September, before the return of the Wuhan Open the following week.
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old also extended her current record for the highest percentage of sets won 6-0 at WTA 1000 tournaments.
Swiatek has now picked up a bagel in 11.2% of sets she has played at WTA 1000s, well ahead of the likes of Williams, Victoria Azarenka, and Garbine Muguruza in the all-time standings.