Iga Swiatek underlined her status as the world’s top player with an efficient 6-4 6-3 victory over Croatian Petra Martic at Wimbledon on Thursday, her 21st match win in a row.
The 23-year-old Pole triumphed at the Madrid and Rome Opens as well as taking the Roland Garros title, before switching to the Wimbledon grass and reaching the third round.
Swiatek, who has won five Grand Slams but has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals here, looked comfortable on the Centre Court grass, though she was tested at times by Martic’s hefty serve and groundstrokes.
Martic, 10 years Swiatek’s senior and ranked 85th in the world, fell and needed treatment after the seventh game of the first set but resumed apparently unimpeded.
Swiatek clinched the first set on her first break point with an attacking forehand that Martic could only dump into the net.
She broke Martic’s serve in the eighth game of the second set, earned match point with a big forehand winner and finished the contest with a serve that Martic netted.