(Wimbledon) Favorite Iga Swiatek saved two match points before reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time in her career on Sunday, winning 6-7(4), 7-6(2) and 6-3 ahead of Belinda Bencic.
Ranked number 1 in the world, Swiatek is undefeated for 14 games including her triumph at Roland-Garros in June. She then obtained her fourth major title.
The 22-year-old Polish has been crowned three times in Paris and once in New York.
Last year’s loss in the third round of Wimbledon ended a streak of 37 wins.
Ranked 14th in the WTA, Bencic won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Swiatek gave up six break points in the first set, where her rival won the first deadlock break after leading 6-1.
Down 6-5 in the second set, that’s when Swiatek saved two match points. Finding herself in a tiebreaker again, she took control there with five points in a row, starting at 2-2.
The favorite won this second set on a double fault by the Swiss. This added a 10th such blunder, giving Swiatek a 3-1 lead in the final set. The number 1 then sealed her victory with a forehand cross.
Her next rival will be Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
Seven-time All England Club champion Novak Djokovic was leading 7-6 (6) and 7-6 (6) against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz when their match was called off as it was getting too late to play.
Hostilities will resume on Monday; the winner will face Andrey Rublev, seeded seventh.
Earlier on Sunday, Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva earned her ticket to the fourth round.
New rising star of women’s tennis, 16-year-old Andreeva prevailed 6-2, 7-5 against compatriot Anastasia Potapova, 23rd in the world and 22nd seed.
She became the youngest player since Coco Gauff in 2019 to advance to the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Andreeva, who reached the third round of women’s singles at the French Open last month, scored the triumph despite trailing 1-4 in the second set.
“I erased a 1-4 setback so of course I feel very good,” Andreeva said in an on-court interview before explaining how she stays calm.
“Today, honestly, even though I had wanted to show emotion, I was unable to because I was out of breath almost every point. I really couldn’t show any emotions,” added Andreeva, who is making her second Grand Slam appearance as a pro.
Those emotions finally came out, however, when Andreeva sat back in her chair and covered her face with her Wimbledon-identified towel for a few seconds while she regained her poise.
In her next match, Andreeva will face 25th seeded American Madison Keys for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Twenty minutes earlier, Marketa Vondrousova had become the first women’s singles player to earn a place in the quarterfinals. She did so with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over 32nd-seeded Marie Bouzkova.
Fourth-seeded American Jessica Pegula also earned her spot in the quarter-finals after defeating Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-3. Pegula will meet Vondrousova in the quarter-finals.
The missing piece in the fourth round of the men’s singles was filled following the victory of Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, seeded 21st.
In a match that started on Saturday, Dimitrov defeated American Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
His next opponent will be Denmark’s Holger Rune, seeded sixth.
