It took the Centre Court crowd two points to begin rooting for Amanda Anisimova, after sensing some early nerves in her shaky serving arm. By the third, with the American facing three break points at 0-40, the crowd’s cheers had dissipated into a hum of whispered concern. Iga Swiatek quickly sealed the break, and Anisimova’s nightmare had begun.
It was arguably the worst set of tennis in Wimbledon’s long history of finals, perhaps of any grand slam final. She served three double faults and put only 33 per cent of first serves in (Swiatek landed 80 per cent); most tellingly, she made an eye-watering 14 unforced errors in just six games (Swiatek made only two). Anisimova won nine points in 25 minutes and lost 27.
