Poland’s Swiatek, who won the title in New York in 2022, breezed past the Russian player with a 6-4, 6-2 victory during the night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium, not allowing a single break point.
Before the match, the top seed was seen chatting with 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams in the players’ gym.
Swiatek commented, “It was nice of her to come up to me, because I definitely wouldn’t have had the courage to do that myself.”
She continued, “Even though we’ve met before and have been on tour together for a few years, she still feels like a star to me.”
Swiatek also mentioned that meeting Williams, a six-time US Open champion, “inspired me and gave me a positive boost.”
Despite her near-perfect performance against Pavlyuchenkova, Swiatek feels there is still room for improvement.
“My tennis isn’t flawless,” said the five-time Grand Slam champion.
“Even though I’ve been number one and winning tournaments, I feel there are aspects I still need to work on.”
After suffering a 6-0 6-0 defeat to Swiatek in their last encounter, Pavlyuchenkova fought hard in the first set but struggled to recover from an early break.
In the second set, the 25th seed was unable to match Swiatek’s heightened level of play. Swiatek made just one unforced error, broke serve twice, and ultimately served out the match.
Swiatek will face Liudmila Samsonova in the fourth round, with the 16th-seeded Russian having quickly dispatched American Ashlyn Krueger 6-1 6-1 in just 62 minutes.
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