In the final minutes of her quick afternoon on Centre Court, two points from defeat, Karolina Pliskova curled a precise first serve out wide that landed dead on the line, sending a wisp of white titanium pigment flying through the air. Against most other players the serve would not have come back, but Iga Swiatek is not any player. The Pole frantically shuffled to her right and brilliantly improvised with a low, cutting slice return that died on the grass, leaving Pliskova with little chance of a response.
There are days when everything goes one player’s way, and the unique aspect of Swiatek’s career is how frequently she is the protagonist on such afternoons. Here she put together a dominant performance as her title defence gained some momentum, dismantling Pliskova 6-1, 6-3 to reach the third round.
