LONDON. – Iga Swiatek’s Wimbledon dream was hanging by the thinnest of threads as she faced two match points against Belinda Bencic, but the world No. 1 came through the toughest of tests to reach her first quarterfinal at the grasscourt Grand Slam on Sunday.
Her Swiss opponent proved a frustrating obstacle for Swiatek, with Poland’s four-time Grand Slam winner struggling to master the Olympic champion for the majority of what proved an intriguing tussle on Centre Court.
As the evening gloom set in, Swiatek eventually got a handle on her opponent’s game, moving clear in the final set before wrapping up a 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 6-3 victory after more than three hours of compelling twists and turns.
The 14th-seeded Bencic was stubborn in her resistance in the opening set, saving six break points before taking it on a tiebreak and then fighting back from behind in the second.
But Swiatek saved two match points at 5-6 in the second and then levelled the contest in another tiebreak.
The top seed, who arrived at the All England Club having won her third French Open title last month, had never reached the last eight at Wimbledon in her previous three attempts and will next face Ukrainian wild card Elina Svitolina.
Should the Pole go on and win Wimbledon, Swiatek will be in exalted company with only Venus Williams in 2005 and her sister Serena four years later lifting the trophy after facing match point en route to the title in the Open era.
“I don’t know if I even came back from match point down in my career,” Swiatek said in her on court interview. “I feel I needed the win to believe in myself on this surface.” — Reuters
