Iga Swiatek faced down a trial of physical and mental strength on Sunday night to reach her first Wimbledon quarter-final and answer some of the questions about whether she is ready to compete for the title in SW19.
Holding off two match points to win in three sets over three hours, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-3, Swiatek had to wrestle not only with her own game, as she continues to adapt to playing on grass, but also an opponent in Belinda Bencic who is comfortable on the surface, has a mean backhand, and rose to the occasion on Centre Court.
After losing the first set on a tie-break, the turning point came at 5-6 in the second. A combination of bad play and Bencic’s assertiveness, a microcosm of the match to that point, had given the Swiss No 14 seed two break points. But in the moment when she needed it most Swiatek was able to raise her game; first finding a low forehand drive, then one off the backhand to pull to deuce before serving out for 6-6.
After winning the second-set tie-break, Swiatek broke early in the third and methodically ground her way to victory. It was not always pretty but it was effective under real pressure.
“It wasn’t easy,” Swiatek said. “She had match point, right? I don’t know if that’s even happened in my career [to come back]. I’m really happy. I needed that win to believe in myself a bit more on this surface. I just wanted to be solid and thought that would give me again a chance of victory. I’m happy I stayed disciplined.”
On how she had dealt with the possibility of imminent defeat, Swiatek insisted she had felt a release of pressure at that crucial moment. “At a point like that you feel like you gave your best but you’re still down so you’re playing a little bit … easier. She’s leading anyway, so play the shots more fearlessly; there’s nothing to lose you’re already in a bad position. On a match point, I think the player who is supposed to win has more pressure. I just wanted to play and I guess it worked.”
Bencic, the Olympic champion, deserves credit for making the match a high-stakes spectacle that, while peppered with errors, also offered moments of the highest quality, not least off the Swiss’s backhand. But after looking the better player for the first two hours, by the end her resistance had been broken.
