Iga Swiatek came really close to losing against Belinda Bencic but the Polish superstar turned it around to win in three.
Wimbledon nearly lost the top WTA seed as Swiatek threaded lightly against Belinda Bencic. The Swiss player had two match points late in the second set but couldn't get it done and it turned only for the worse after dropping that set.
Iga Swiatek has been playing really solid tennis on grass so far but this one was pretty tough. Bencic had beaten Swiatek in the past and she certainly has the type of tennis that can give the Polish player some trouble. The opening set was literally that, Bencic giving Swiatek a lot of trouble though it might not have been in the way you think.
Swiatek was very good in that set, much better than Bencic overall, especially when it comes to serving. The Swiss player didn't serve as well as Swiatek and she didn't play as well from the baseline either but she did one crucial thing better. She played the most important points better. Swiatek was 20/24 on her first serve losing only 7 points on serve in total.
She didn't face a single break point, something that can't be said for Bencic. Bencic lost 7 points on her first serve lone and 16 combined while also facing six break points. But she saved them all. The set was decided in the tiebreak and it was by far the worst stretch of tennis the number one played that day. She fell behind 0-4 and there was no coming back from that.
Not when Bencic was hitting the ball as well as she did at the time. Swiatek lacked a bit of aggression in those crucial rallies as Bencic posted 13 winners compared to 9 from the Polish superstar. Quite a few of those were huge ones as well.
The second set opened with Swiatek taking an early break and while she did hold it for a while, Bencic was still able to battle back. The Polish superstar couldn't quite find the best rhythm and she struggled with her return. Far too often we would see her struggle to put back a serve into the court as Bencic was able to keep her away from any chances.
It proved quite costly at 5-6 in the second set when two really bad misses from Swiatek gave Bencic two match points. Bencic didn't use them and the set went to the tiebreak. In it the first four points were mini-breaks but then Swiatek pulled ahead. She would close that tiebreak with a convincing 7-2 finish and kept playing strong tennis in the next set.
As Bencic's confidence disappeared so did Swiatek managed to turn around the match completely. She jumped out to an early lead in the final set. It was clear that she was living by her words not thinking about past failures at Wimbledon but rather focusing on the present moment.
The final score 6-7(4) 7-6(2) 6-3 for Swiatek who had 3 aces and 32 winners and 24 unforced errors. This was also the first match of her professional career that featured two tiebreaks. That's how dominant the WTA number one has been so far in her career.
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