It should not really be possible for someone who has won five grand slam titles and been world No 1 for 125 weeks to slip under the radar. But at Wimbledon, where she has made the quarter-finals only once and where grass-court nous is still a work in progress, Iga Swiatek somehow seems to go about her business almost unnoticed. If she loses early, it’s quickly shaken off; if she goes deep, it’s bonus territory and a sign that all is well in her world.
On Thursday, the Pole, seeded eighth after dropping down the rankings in the first half of this year, shrugged off a poor end to the first set to beat the American Caty McNally 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 for a place in the third round. Ranked 208 but in the draw on a protected ranking after a long time off due to elbow surgery, McNally chipped and charged and came forward with purpose as she pinched the first set from 4-1 down. But Swiatek steadied the ship quickly and dominated the second and third sets for another morale‑boosting victory.
Having struggled in the first part of the clay season, Swiatek started to find her game at Roland Garros, where she has won the title four times. Defeat by Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals hurt but she reached her first grass-court final in Bad Homburg and she is just the third woman this century, after Amélie Mauresmo and Serena Williams, to make the third round or better at 22 or more slams. Against McNally, she did not panic when the first set slipped away and in the end she was a comfortable winner.
“I started well so I knew my game was there,” Swiatek said, explaining how she turned things around. “I just needed to use it, to be more intense and more accurate with my preparation. I’m happy I was able to do it.”
There is a lot about grass-court tennis that Swiatek has yet to master. Though her volleys are technically sound, the transition from the baseline to the net is often tentative, still moving backwards at times to let the ball bounce when a smash would be easier. But when her serve is working smoothly, as it was for the most part against McNally, she is still very hard to beat.
Swiatek and McNally know each other well, having won the junior doubles title together at Roland Garros in 2018. Swiatek won the junior Wimbledon title that year, but lost to McNally in the semis in Paris, a defeat she described on Thursday as “one of the most heartbreaking of my junior career”. The two women embraced fondly at the net and Swiatek was delighted to see her on court again. “I’m happy she’s back,” she said. “For sure she’s got the game to do well.”
Next up for Swiatek is Danielle Collins, the hard-hitting American who handed her a painful defeat on clay in Rome last time out. Win that, and she’s likely to find herself up against Elena Rybakina, the 2022 champion, who eased past Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-1.
The defending champion, Barbora Krejcikova, was made to work before beating Caroline Dolehide 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, setting up a clash with the 10th seed, Emma Navarro, a quarter-finalist here last year. The No 7 seed, Mirra Andreeva, in the same section of the draw, beat Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 7-6 (4). “In the beginning I felt like I was playing great, taking the ball early, playing aggressive, but in the second set she also started to play better and I got a little bit nervous,” the Russian said. “I’m just super-happy that I managed to push myself to fight until the end.”
