Iga Swiatek blew into the third round of Wimbledon on a wet Wednesday, turning in an efficient 70-minute thrashing of Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo.
The top-seeded four-time Grand Slam winner is trying to fill in a gap on her impressive tennis resume at the only major where she has not reached at least the quarter-finals.
Swiatek wasted no time on a day in which more rain hit play in early afternoon with 87 matches to try and complete.
That plan went wrong a few hours in, with 10 matches initially cancelled after interruptions from passing rain showers threw the Day 3 schedule behind.
“I’m happy that my matches were scheduled under the roof, so I always was certain that it’s going to actually happen,” the WTA No. 1 said.
“It’s a little bit easier to prepare knowing that; but I know I would still be ready anyway if my match was suspended or something.
“I have the normal Grand Slam rhythm with one day off, one day of playing matches.
Tournament officials have drawn fire after Tuesday’s near washout for going ahead and putting on some second-round contests while dozens from the first round had not even started.
Swiatek wants to concentrate on keeping her concentration level.
“I feel really confident, I was able to do everything tactically as I wanted to, as my coach wanted me to do, in the first and second rounds.”
Former Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova advanced over Brit wild card Heather Watson 6-2, 7-5.But Katie Boulter brought a ray of home sunshine to the proceedings with her 7-6 (4), 6-2 win over Australian Daria Saville.
Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine shocked Greek eighth seed Maria Sakkari with a 0-6, 7-5, 6-2 fightback.
No. 26 Kostyuk has long been a fervent supporter of her country since the Russian invasion and drew the puzzling wrath of a French Open crowd last month as she left the court in defeat.
“That was questionable behavior from the fans. I mean, they can do whatever
they want, honestly, but I just didn’t understand it – I don’t think I ever will.
“The support here is different, even though in the beginning of the match, I’d say that they were supporting Maria more than me.
“That’s understandable, because she’s more known than me and a Top 10 player.
“I was very happy with the support at the end of the match – throughout the match, also.”
The 11th-seeded Daria Kasatkina secured the first result of the day in mid-afternoon with a 6-0, 6-2 defeat of Brit Jodie Burrage.
The seed, losing finalist at the weekend in Eastbourne, reached a quarter-final here five years ago.
“I like to think I’ve improved since then,” she said. “I’m happy to be back here.
“It was tricky as I didn’t hit on Centre court before this match and the grass plays differently.
“But I’m happy with how I handled it and I’m glad to be through.
“It’s always difficult playing a British girl with the crowd supporting her; I was nervous and I felt the electricity.”
Popular Estonian Anett Kontaveit, retiring after Wimbledon at age 28 due to injury and a former WTA No. 2, extended her stay here by defeating Italian qualifier Lucrezia Stefanini 6-4, 6-4.
Kontaveit’s match was relegated to a graveyard court with barely any seating for spectators, another clumsy move from organisers which rang alarm bells in the locker room.
Surprise Roland Garros semi-finalist Beatriz Haddad Mair, advanced past Kazakh Yulia Putintseva3-6, 6-0, 6-4.
2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens beat Swede Rebeca Peterson 6-2, 6-3.
