Wimbledon: Improving Swiatek downs Pliskova to reach third round

London, July 2 (IANS) Despite still not being at her absolute best, six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek made it to the third round at Wimbledon with a 6-1, 6-3 second-round victory over 2021 runner-up Karolina Pliskova at the All-England Club in London on Thursday.

Though the scoreline on Thursday looked a lot more assured than in the previous round, it was an improvement for the defending champion on the difficulties of her opener against Taylor Townsend on Tuesday. On Thursday, the former World No.1 from Poland did not concede a set, and there were also no juddering tears of relief. It helped that the pre-match danger threatened by Pliskova’s career-long grass-court smarts materialised only fleetingly.

It was also a big relief for Swiatek as she held break points in every Pliskova service game. Still, the Pole stacked up 18 unforced errors in this match, at times in unseemly clumps. Any repeat in upcoming rounds could create a disaster, with the quality of opposition improving in the upcoming rounds.

“I’m feeling more stable today, and that’s good,” said Swiatek while addressing the Centre Court crowd after her victory. “The first round was really emotional, but today felt like another day in the office. I needed to be ready, be sharp, and make good decisions.

“It’s always better when you’re able to think like that. I was consistent and had a good level of focus. I just believed I could be the most solid player on the court. I try to be the best player I can be.”

Pliskova will surely be disappointed not to have generated more damage. But merely by the fact of playing here again, the 34-year-old was achieving something of a miracle.

Almost two years ago, she ruptured all the ligaments and both tendons in her left ankle. After initial surgery, an infection set in so severely that she was forced to go under the knife again.

It left her sufficiently incapacitated that not only was tennis impossible for a while, but merely walking was too. Having started this year ranked No.1,054, she has rocketed back up to No.73 and will be around ten places higher when the new post-Championships rankings are released.

–IANS

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