The youth won the first game to experience within the singles branch of Wimbledon 2022. During the day on Tuesday, the stories were full of contrasts, because while the Polish Iga Swiatek firmly continues her winning streak, the American Serena Williams was shot down in her debut match.
Swiatek opened the curtain against Jana Fett and in less than 90 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) achieved victory by partials of 6-0 and 6-3, although the difference in positions in the ranking made us suppose from the beginning that history would be defined with that breadth, since while the Polish is number 1 in the world, the Croatian is number 252 and entered the main draw of Wimbledon through the qualies.
Thanks to this triumph, Iga Swiatek reinforced her winning streak to 36 WTA Tour victories, which includes six titles between February and June: the Qatar, Miami, Stuttgart and Rome Opens, as well as Indian Wells and the Roland Garros Grand Slam.
At 21 years old, she maintains the label as the main face of women’s tennis today and is already the seventh player with the longest winning streak in history, as she surpassed Venus Williams’ 35 and tied Monica Seles, although she is still She trails Martina Hingis (37), Chris Evert (55), Margaret Court (57), Steffi Graff (66) and Martina Navratilova (74).
“I am very happy to have won, the first rounds are always difficult, especially being my first match on grass of the season. I’m happy that we were able to implement these things that we were practicing these last couple of days,” Swiatek said after the win against Fett.
Despite her streak, the young Pole doesn’t lose ground and prefers to concentrate on going game by game: “I don’t think about that, when I see Venus or Serena I still see them as two legends, I don’t consider myself a legend. For me, legends represent players who have been the best in all of tennis history, so I’m still a long way from being there.”
The next test in Swiatek’s path will be the Dutch Lesley Pattinama-Kerkhove, number 138 in the WTA ranking and who entered the main draw via the lucky loser. This is another great opportunity for the world number 1 to continue in search of the seventh title of the season and her second in the Grand Slam category.
“For me it is incredible to be living this type of streak, it reflects all the work we have been putting into each game. I am happy to have shown my consistency, that was always my goal. I did not know that it would be possible to achieve it, now it is a factor that I always use in my favor”, added the Pole.
However, on the other side of the story is the experienced Serena Williams, who fell on her return to activity after a year out due to injuries. Serena was eliminated by the young French Harmony Tan in a match that extended to three sets and ended 7-5, 1-6 and 7-6 in favor of the native of Paris.
Tan had never played in the main draw at Wimbledon and his feelings were even fearful when he found out that his first opponent would be Serena Williams, but he still managed to pass the test in what he defines as one of the best matches of his life.
“When I saw the painting I was scared. She is Serena Williams, she is a legend. She thought how she could play him, that she would be content to just win a game or two. I don’t even know what to say right now, she’s a superstar. When she was young I’ve seen her thousands of times on TV, and now I’ve beaten her at my first Wimbledon. Just wow,” said the 24-year-old Frenchwoman.
The loss to Tan was just the third for Serena Williams in a Grand Slam first round, which is combined with that of 2021 also at Wimbledon against Aliaksandra Sasnovich and that of 2012 at Roland Garros against Virginie Razzano. In total, she has faced this phase on 80 occasions and has been the winner on 77, that is, she has had more than 96% effectiveness.
Despite the defeat, Serena Williams did not talk about her retirement, but rather about the preparation she needs to recover for the fourth Grand Slam of the season, which will be at home, during the US Open.
“My immediate reaction is to want to go to the training courts: I haven’t played too badly and I’ve been very close to winning. It is a match that makes me say to myself: ‘Serena, you can do it if you want’ (…) When you are at home, especially in New York, and knowing that the US Open is the first Grand Slam that I won, definitely It is something super special. I have a lot of motivation to improve and to play at home”.
Serena Williams will have to wait for the US Open in September to start building her path towards her 24th Grand Slam title and extend her hegemony as the most successful tennis player in this category in history, since for now Rafael Nadal could tie her with 23 if he wins the 2022 Wimbledon crown.