Seeded eighth, Swiatek wasted no time asserting her authority in the semifinal, breaking Bencic’s serve early and surging to a 3-0 lead. Though Bencic managed to settle briefly and hold serve twice, the Pole tightened her grip, breaking to love in the eighth game to seal the first set 6-2
Iga Swiatek (Pic: AFP)
Iga Swiatek produced a dazzling display of dominance on Thursday to sweep aside Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-0 and secure her place in a maiden Wimbledon final. The Polish star, a five-time Grand Slam champion, needed just 71 minutes on Centre Court to dismantle her Swiss opponent and continue her impressive run at the All England Club.
Seeded eighth, Swiatek wasted no time asserting her authority in the semifinal, breaking Bencic’s serve early and surging to a 3-0 lead. Though Bencic managed to settle briefly and hold serve twice, the Pole tightened her grip, breaking to love in the eighth game to seal the first set 6-2.
The second set was even more emphatic. Swiatek maintained relentless pressure, immediately breaking Bencic and refusing to concede a single game. The 24-year-old barely gave her opponent room to breathe, delivering a masterclass in precision and composure on grass, where she had previously struggled to leave a mark.
Following the match, a visibly elated Swiatek reflected on her unexpected success at Wimbledon: "I thought I had lived through everything, even though I'm young, I thought I experienced everything on the court but I didn't experience playing well on grass, so that's the first time and I'm super, super excited and just enjoying it."
Bencic, a former Olympic gold medallist, came into the tournament ranked 35th and returned to action just last October, six months after giving birth to her daughter, Bella. Despite showing flashes of her trademark power, the Swiss star simply had no answers to Swiatek’s relentless rhythm.
With top seeds falling early, including all of the top seven women’s seeds, Swiatek has quietly carved her path to the final. Remarkably, she has dropped only one set en route. Her Wimbledon campaign follows a run to the final in Bad Homburg last month, marking her first appearance in a grass-court final.
The world number four, already a force on clay with four French Open titles and a US Open crown on hard court, will now have the opportunity to complete a remarkable surface trifecta. Until this year, Swiatek had never progressed beyond the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
She will face American Amanda Anisimova in Saturday’s final. The 13th seed stunned world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set thriller to reach her first Wimbledon final, setting the stage for an electrifying showdown between two players chasing their first crown at SW19.
(With AFP inputs)
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