On a day of upsets Iga Swiatek makes triumphant return to Wimbledon

 

WIMBLEDON -- A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Iga Swiatek was the best junior here on the grass.

“It feels like it was in a different lifetime, you know?” Swiatek told reporters on Sunday. “It was probably the highlight of my career back then. It felt pretty surreal. But on the other hand, I came back home, and nothing really changed.

“I remember I thought maybe life is going to be, like, perfect now. I was a bit disappointed. It was still the same, and I still had to get back to work. I remember having a lot of just hope and just the feeling that maybe it’s going to be also possible in the future at the pro level.”


It was 2018 and the 17-year-old Swiatek won her first (and only) junior Grand Slam title on a surface that is technically her worst as a professional.

That draw was loaded with future stars -- No. 3 seed Coco Gauff, No. 8 Clara Tauson and No. 11 Leylah Fernandez. Swiatek beat unseeded Emma Raducanu 6-0, 6-1 in the quarterfinals and No. 4 seed Wang Xinyu in the semis.

Fast forward to today, with Swiatek -- a four-time Roland Garros champion on the red clay but with a career-best quarterfinal berth at Wimbledon two years ago -- coming off her best Hologic WTA Tour grass result ever. Last Saturday’s final in Bad Homburg was her first WTA final since winning in Paris more than a year ago.

On Tuesday, the No. 8 seed here dropped a 7-5, 6-1 decision on Polina Kudermetova It was Swiatek’s 61st consecutive win in an opening match -- the longest streak of any woman this century. She’ll meet Caty McNally, a 6-3, 6-1 winner over British wildcard Jodie Burrage
on Thursday.

With the victory, Swiatek’s record at Wimbledon is 12-5 (.706). That’s a fairly stellar mark, but perhaps because she is so dominant on clay, Swiatek has always been self-deprecating about her grass skills.


And yet, the 24-year-old from Poland defeated Jasmine Paolini definitively, 6-1, 6-3, in the Bad Homburg semifinals.

“It for sure gave me a lot of confidence,” Swiatek said. “Obviously it’s tennis, so every day is different, but I felt like I’m playing great. I really pushed Jasmine the way I wanted to. I had really great time in Bad Homburg and enjoyed it. Yeah, also having more time to practice before on grass really helped. I feel that I have a little bit more skills.”

And while Paolini reached the finals here a year ago, she is not listed among the leading favorites to win this title.

 Swiatek, a small distance behind Aryna Sabalenka, is -- ahead of 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and reigning French Open winner Coco Gauff

Swiatek gave Jessica Pegula a good go in Bad Homburg, losing a brisk final by a 6-4, 7-5 count.


“She said in her speech, `Oh, there’s hope for me.’ I was like, `You’re still pretty good,’ ” Pegula said on Sunday. “I’m pretty sure she made [Wimbledon] quarters a few years ago. She won junior Wimbledon -- you’re obviously not like a lost cause.

“I think she was a little hard on herself … it’s hard when you don’t feel as natural on a surface. Yeah, she’ll be fine.”

Swiatek arrived at Wimbledon late Saturday night and -- aside from her media responsibilities -- had Sunday off. She practiced Monday and looked sharp in her first match.

It’s all a part of a committed effort to get better on grass. After losing to Sabalenka in the semifinals at Roland Garros, Swiatek opted to skip the WTA 500 events at Queen’s Club and Berlin. Instead, she spent a week practicing in Mallorca. Slowly, surely, she’s feeling better on grass.

“Just more time, like give me opportunity to, yeah, work on some movement and stepping to the ball a little bit differently than on clay -- it helped,” Swiatek said. “You really have to trust your shots on grass. You can’t really pull back.

“Any shot that will give your opponent more time to go in is probably the shot that will make you lose the rally. I just went for it in Bad Homburg, and it really worked.”

There’s a theory floating around that because her customary clay runs in Stuttgart, Madrid, Roma and Paris have been so taxing, there was never much left in Swiatek’s tank, physically or emotionally, for Wimbledon.

After a work-vacation on a lovely Spanish island, she looks fresh and ready to challenge for one of the two Grand Slam titles that have eluded her.

wtatennis.com

Well Iga may not have won Bad Homburg last week, but unlike the eventual champion Pegula she transitioned well and made it through the first round at Wimbledon. 

Something that I think her fans and even the press often under appreciate. 

Just the fact that Iga despite having her worst season title-wise, is able to make it through the first round of a Slam every time regardless of the surface (and this being her least successful one) is quite extraordinary. 

I continue to be  impressed with Iga's serving on grass, seems that all that work on serve is finally clicking.  She's actually averaging 5 aces per match.

And it is great to see, because it allows her to have a lot of free points and play more free not feeling all the stress and pressure on her service games even if she makes an error or two.

Iga's next opponent Caty McNally will definitely be a tricky customer given she feels comfortable on grass and loves coming forward to the net. 

But if Iga can stay close on serve throughout the match as she did here it'll help her immensely.  And she already faced a similar player in Paolini so we'll definitely know what tactics to deploy.

Thursday's playing conditions will be much cooler so Iga will probably have to make adjustments for the ball moving a bit slower. 

But I really think she'll manage it well. 

With every match on grass she's gaining confidence and that is also quite good to see.