Much has been made of the rare break Iga Swiatek enjoyed from competition after her latest Grand Slam triumph at Roland-Garros.
While her counterparts were rediscovering their best grass-court tennis, the world No.1 was decompressing from a heady period that earlier included consecutive WTA 1000-level titles in Madrid and Rome. After watching a Taylor Swift concert in Liverpool, Swiatek said it took three days to return to her normal sleeping patterns.
If that created questions about how the No.1 seed would fare on her return to the All England Club, Swiatek answered them emphatically.
With her 6-3, 6-4 victory over Sofia Kenin, Swiatek recorded her 20th straight match win – becoming the only active player on the WTA Tour, alongside Venus Williams, to secure multiple winning streaks of that number.
And as she entered the match against Kenin in her 110th week at world No.1, the Polish superstar provided many reminders of her dominance.
While Swiatek vastly outranks the No.49 American, she is far too clever a player to be fooled by the disparity in numbers. Their No.1 court meeting was the only first round pairing between two Grand Slam champions.
Swiatek claimed the first of her five majors at Roland-Garros in 2020, Kenin triumphing at the Australian Open earlier that year. And despite their different trajectories since those breakthroughs, Swiatek was well aware of the dangers Kenin posed on grass.
In 2023, the American pulled off one of the biggest shocks by stunning No.7 seed Coco Gauff in the first round.
Swiatek was therefore wise to assert her early authority against Kenin, showcasing her most efficient tennis as she raced to a 2-0 lead and dropped serve only once to secure the first set in 37 minutes.
The 25-year-old Kenin elevated her intensity in the second set. But with her confidence growing, a dialled-in Swiatek required only the briefest lapse to capitalise. She claimed another break of serve and consolidated to build a 5-3 advantage. Helped by consecutive aces, she calmly served out the match in the 10th game.
“It was a solid start and not an easy draw, so I'm happy that I have a chance to play another match here,” said Swiatek, now a winner of all three matches she’s contested against Kenin.
“Now on the WTA it's pretty easy to play against Grand Slam champions, even in first rounds, so you have to be ready for everything. These are experienced players so there's no time to get into the tournament slowly. You need to be ready straight away. So I'm happy that I did that today.”
With victory secured in an hour and 19 minutes, Swiatek could look to other notable numbers. Her 17 winners comfortably outnumbered Kenin’s nine, and the Pole saved three of the four break points that she faced.
Arguably even more impressive is Swiatek's 44 match wins this season – not that the 23-year-old is dwelling on those statistics as she aims to find her best form at SW19.
She suffered her only first-round loss at a Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2019, and her quarter-final appearance in 2023 is her best performance at The Championships.
“Honestly, on this surface, it's not about the result for me but about the process and kind of how that I feel,” said Swiatek.
“I'm doing things better than last year, so I'm not really looking at numbers or statistics, trying to just be better every day. For sure matches are different because there's a little bit more attention and everything, but on the practice court, I feel like every year I'm playing a little bit better on grass.”
It ensures that Swiatek will bring a dangerously relaxed mindset into her second round against Britain’s Francesca Jones or Petra Martic of Croatia.
“Obviously I had a great beginning of the season," she added. "So I feel like I can come here and kind of not worry about points or anything and just focus on what I want to focus (on)."
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