France’s Alize Cornet defeated Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-2 in the third round of Wimbledon 2022 to end the World No 1’s remarkable win streak at 37 matches, here on Saturday.
The victory puts the 32-year-old Cornet into the Round of 16 at Wimbledon for the first time since 2014.
Cornet’s victory over Swiatek is her first complete-match win over a reigning World No. 1 since notching a similar result in the third round of Wimbledon in 2014. Then, Cornet had stunned the then No. 1 seed Serena Williams 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to advance to her first Round of 16 at The Championships.
“It reminds me of the time I beat Serena on the same court, eight years ago exactly. This court is a lucky charm for me,” Cornet said on court after the win.
“I think these kinds of matches are what I’m living for, what I’m practicing for every day. I knew I could win it. I had the belief,” she added.
On the other hand, Swiatek had looked unbeatable on hard courts and clay but the 21-year-old had been open about her learning curve on grass. She was earlier made to battle hard in the second round to defeat lucky-loser Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. With her loss to Cornet, Swiatek still has yet to beat a Top 50 player on grass.
Cornet played a clean, veteran match to unwind from Swiatek’s power game. She jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to two early breaks and held Pole star off from there.
Swiatek was able to get on the board by breaking Cornet in a long fourth game, but Cornet’s insurance break proved its worth. Across the 51-minute opening set, Cornet made just five unforced errors, while Swiatek misfired on 17.
World No. 1 looked primed for one of her trademark comebacks in the second set, as she broke early for a 2-0 lead. But the Pole’s game never clicked in. Unable to clean up her unforced errors, Swiatek immediately ceded back her break advantage and Cornet ran away with the set from there, winning the last six games of the 93-minute match.
Cornet finished the match with 17 winners to just seven unforced errors. Swiatek fired 21 winners and 33 unforced errors.
(Inputs from IANS)