Iga Swiatek makes more history with Wimbledon Round 1 victory

It was business as usual for Iga Swiatek in her opening Wimbledon match on Monday.

There has been plenty of talk about the world No 1 receiving a tough draw at the All England Club, starting with a round-one contest against Sofia Kenin on Tuesday.

Former Australian Open champion Kenin defeated Coco Gauff at this stage a year ago, and famously played Swiatek in the 2020 French Open final – and the opening round of the Australian Open this year.

And, much like in those two meetings, it was the Pole who prevailed.

Swiatek managed to avoid the same fate as Gauff twelve months ago, producing an efficient performance to beat the former world No 4 6-3, 6-4 and reach the second round.

Questions have been raised about how well Swiatek can fare at Wimbledon this summer, with the Pole’s grass record not as strong as her form on clay and hard.

The Pole is now a four-time Roland Garros champion and won the US Open in 2022, but has only once reached the last eight at the All England Club – doing that in 2023.

But, as she approaches her next match against Petra Martic – who she also faced last year – the world No 1 looks as if she will be as tough to beat as ever.

And she is building another incredible run of form that looks tough to stop.

Twenty in a row – and counting
Victory over Kenin was a 20th straight match win for Swiatek, with the five-time major champion having now not lost in over two months.

Swiatek was beaten by world No 4 Elena Rybakina in the semi-final of the Stuttgart Open in April but followed that up by winning WTA 1000 titles in Madrid and Rome, and then a third straight French Open title.

This is now the second-best winning run of her career, only behind her historic 37-match winning streak during the spring and summer of 2022.