It has not been the best 12 months for Iga Swiatek but the Pole is finally finding form on grass, her least favoured surface, and is through to her 12th grand slam quarter-final after a 6-4, 6-1 win against the world No 22 Clara Tauson.
It can be easy to forget how young Swiatek is, with five grand slam titles to her name at 24 years old. But the past year has shown there is room for growth in her game, with the player admitting she has mentally struggled. The Pole is seeded No 8 here – low for her standards – and her most recent singles title came more than a year ago, at the 2024 French Open. Her first final of this season came at the end of last month at Bad Homburg, where she lost against Jessica Pegula in straight sets.
Tauson’s lack of serve against the world No 4 was her biggest downfall, with the player hitting only one ace to Swiatek’s four and having a lowly first-serve points won percentage of 64%. It was surprising given she had entered Wimbledon ranked second in the WTA for most aces served this year (223) and has served 28 aces at the tournament, the highest in women’s singles. Her big first serves impressively helped to bring about her first career win against a top-20 player on grass in the last round, defeating the 2022 champion, Elena Rybakina.
It was a very strange opening to the match with three straight breaks to start. Swiatek hit four double faults in her first two service games to hand Tauson, who repeatedly complained to the chair umpire the court was too slippery, the advantage. Both players proceeded to hold to love with Swiatek showing off her close net action while Tauson aimed to hit big.
After a scruffy game, Swiatek broke as the Dane’s booming forehands sailed long and then went ahead in the first set with a hold. Three more holds from the pair followed before Swiatek broke again to take the set, with Tauson beating her chest in frustration after hitting a forehand wide to hand the Pole the advantage before serving a double fault.
At the changeover after the first set, Tauson took a medical timeout, speaking exasperatedly to her coach and boyfriend, Kasper Elsvad, before failing to win a single point in Swiatek’s first service game of the second set, as the Pole hit promising slices to lead 1-0.
Tauson followed up with an important hold, with a powerful backhand slice wrongfooting her opponent. The Pole hit the fastest serve of the match at 117mph to keep her serve and she looked a lot more settled than in the first set. In the next game, the former world No 1 looked incredibly frustrated after a close line call at her break point but she put her emotions to the side to win a stunning rally that had Tauson scrambling across the court. Another hold meant three games won in a row, sealed with two aces. She looked composed and as sure as she has been on the court in over a year, a stark comparison to Tauson, whose game was unravelling rapidly.
Swiatek broke again with a backhand winner down the line before holding serve to fly into her second quarter-final at Wimbledon, only needing an hour and five minutes to finish the match off. She will face Liudmila Samsonova, the 19th seed who is yet to drop a set in the tournament.
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“She is a really solid player,” Swiatek said of her next opponent. “She is an even [player] from both sides [of the net]. We’ve played many matches. We have played three-setters as well and I remember it wasn’t easy. I know that she can play well on fast surfaces so I will prepare tactically because I haven’t been watching any matches and I will trust what my coach says. I will be ready.”
It may have been a disappointing showing from Tauson, who was not physically at her best, but in her run – the first time in four attempts she has got past the opening round – she will surely be proud of equalling the best women’s singles result achieved here in the Open era by a Danish player, made by Caroline Wozniacki six times.
