World number one on the WTA Tour, Iga Swiatek started her 2024 Wimbledon Championships campaign with a solid win over Sofia Kenin.
The two fellow major winners played earlier this year at the Australian Open, but this match wasn't as close as that one. The American forced a tie-break Down Under but failed to do the same at SW19 again.
Kenin famously bested Coco Gauff in the opening round of Wimbledon last year, but the top seed was just too strong for her this time. It was a pretty good start for the number one, who didn't play any preparation events before Wimbledon.
She spoke about that ahead of the event, admitting that coming early to Wimbledon was a consequence of her not playing any practice event. It didn't matter at all because she played pretty strong tennis to down Kenin in two sets.
It wasn't a perfect match, nor was it as dominant as she can be on clay, but she won, and that's the only thing that matters. The first set was a 6-3 win for the Pole, and it largely came on the back of a really consistent play by the top seed.
She wasn't perfect; she lost her serve, but she also broke Kenin twice and generally outplayed her. Swiatek's serve was particularly impressive because she will need it this and next week.
It was a really solid display, which proved enough in tandem with the hitting. Kenin didn't play a bad set, but she wasn't as good as she needed to be. After all, beating the reigning number one takes a bit of effort.
She tried to be more aggressive in the second set, and it worked early on because she didn't allow Swiatek to apply that much pressure anymore. Still, the five-time major winner broke Kenin midway through the second to take a 5-3 lead, and after that, it was a simple cruise to the finish line, as she won the match 6-3, 6-4.
Iga Swiatek vs Sofia Kenin Match Stats:
| Iga Swiatek | 6-3, 6-4 | Sofia Kenin |
| 6 | Aces | 1 |
| 1 | Double Faults | 3 |
| 54% | First Serve % | 75% |
| 84% (26/31) | Points Won After First Serve % | 64% (27/42) |
| 58% (15/26) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 36% (5/14) |
| 38% (3/8) | Break Point Conversion | 25% (1/4) |
| 17 | Winners | 9 |
| 12 | Unforced Errors | 18 |
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