Wimbledon: World No. 1 Iga Swiatek overcame a late start and the absence of a Centre Court crowd to beat Petra Martic in straight sets and go to the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Swiatek was supposed to play second on Friday at the All England Club, but Andy Murray’s unfinished match with Stefanos Tsitsipas from the day before had to be squeezed in before she faced the 30th seed.
The majority of the fans had left by the time Swiatek went out just before 6.30pm, after Murray’s five-set defeat, but the world No 1 demonstrated why she is a four-time Grand Slam winner with a professional performance in a 6-2 7-5 triumph that equalled her finest showing at the All England Club.
“I’m happy I could close it out at the end of the second set,” Swiatek, 22, said on the court before facing Swiss Olympic champion Belinda Bencic next.
“There is always room for improvement. I’m still 22 years old, therefore I believe I have a lot to learn. I’m hoping to improve year after year. That is my dream.
“Belinda is playing a great game, and we all know she can play great tennis, but the fourth round of a Slam, I’m really looking forward to that match.”
Tunisian Ons Jabeur advanced to the third round with a 6-1 6-1 triumph over Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan in 45 minutes.
Jabeur, who lost the final in 2022, is trying to go one step further at Wimbledon this year, and the sixth seed was faultless with aggressive strokes that sent her opponent, who has placed 185 places behind her, crashing out of the competition.
“She (Bai) qualified here in qualifying, so it was a good game. I believe she had an excellent tournament and wish her the best of luck. However, I tried to play like a top-10 player,” remarked Jabeur.
“I try to work a lot on my serve here. I believe the statistics will show that it is better. We’ll see if my coach gives me a hard time later on.
“Overall, I tried to play cleanly and, for once, to listen to what my coach says!”
Lesia Tsurenko collapsed to the ground in fatigue after defeating Ana Bogdan, saving five match points and winning the longest tie-break in women’s singles Grand Slam history.
For tennis live score, tennis championship, all tennis live score, daily tennis update, tennis tournament, live tennis score, all tennis update, and other tennis news follow Livematchupdates.com.
