Australian Open: Swiatek downs Vekic to reach 4th round

Melbourne: Poland's Iga Swiatek progressed to the fourth round of the Australian Open after beating Donna Vekic in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday.

The Croat was seen as a favourite, but Swiatek wanted to stay on winning ways as in the earlier stages she eliminated Timea Babos and Carla Suarez Navarro without dropping a set, reports Xinhua news agency.

From the very beginning, the 18-year-old was a worthy opponent for Vekic. In the closing stages of the first set, the Croat dropped the serve to lose 5-7 as Swiatek converted the second set point.

It was Vekic who started the second part better. Swiatek lost the serve but she recovered from a slow start by testing Vekic with strong returns and big forehands. The Croatian couldn't find her feet as the Pole won five consecutive games to secure her spot in the fourth round.

The Wimbledon junior champion from 2018 will battle Estonian Anett Kontaveit in the quarterfinal, who surprisingly smashed Belinda Bencic from Switzerland 6-0, 6-1.