Title rivals Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz reached the Wimbledon third round on Wednesday as Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka was demolished on her return to Centre Court after a five-year absence.
Osaka returned to the tour this year after 15 months of maternity leave for her daughter who turns one on Tuesday.
Swiatek wrapped up victory after nearly three hours.
"It feels really nice to be back and I'm just really grateful to be here in front of everybody," said Osaka.
Naomi Osaka and Carlos Alcaraz bring the curtain up on the French Open on Sunday as Roland Garros prepares to bid a likely farewell to Rafael Nadal.
Naomi Osaka said she had taken a leaf out of Novak Djokovic's tactical playbook and tweaked her return game at the Qatar Open after the former women's world number one earned back-to-back wins for the first time in almost two years.
A single break proved enough for the French 16th seed to win the opening set against her rusty opponent and she dominated the second set tie-break to progress in Melbourne.
Fourth seed Gauff said ahead of the opening Grand Slam of the year at Melbourne Park that she wanted to win "multiple" major titles after her breakthrough at Flushing Meadows.
The 26-year-old from Japan last competed on tour at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September 2022 and had her first child, daughter Shai, in July before stepping up her preparations for the Jan. 14-28 Australian Open
Title rivals Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz reached the Wimbledon third round on Wednesday as Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka was demolished on her return to Centre Court after a five-year absence.
Osaka returned to the tour this year after 15 months of maternity leave for her daughter who turns one on Tuesday.
Swiatek wrapped up victory after nearly three hours.
"It feels really nice to be back and I'm just really grateful to be here in front of everybody," said Osaka.
Naomi Osaka and Carlos Alcaraz bring the curtain up on the French Open on Sunday as Roland Garros prepares to bid a likely farewell to Rafael Nadal.
Naomi Osaka said she had taken a leaf out of Novak Djokovic's tactical playbook and tweaked her return game at the Qatar Open after the former women's world number one earned back-to-back wins for the first time in almost two years.
A single break proved enough for the French 16th seed to win the opening set against her rusty opponent and she dominated the second set tie-break to progress in Melbourne.
Fourth seed Gauff said ahead of the opening Grand Slam of the year at Melbourne Park that she wanted to win "multiple" major titles after her breakthrough at Flushing Meadows.
The 26-year-old from Japan last competed on tour at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September 2022 and had her first child, daughter Shai, in July before stepping up her preparations for the Jan. 14-28 Australian Open
Showstopper Nick Kyrgios and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu were notable absentees Thursday from the 2024 Australian Open entry list, but Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka are set for their Grand Slam comebacks.
