LONDON (Reuters) – Iga Swiatek safely negotiated past a potential first-round banana skin by beating fellow Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin 6-3 6-4 at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
The Polish top seed has yet to find her comfort zone on grass, having never reached a final on the sport’s slickest surface, but any hopes of slowly finding her feet were dashed after the draw pitted her against the player who toppled Coco Gauff in the 2023 opening round.
Both players struggled with their serves during the early exchanges, with the first four games featuring nine break points and with both dropping serve.
Swiatek did not let that wobble stop her from taking a 3-1 lead and after a forehand crosscourt winner bagged her the first set, the four-time French Open champion sealed her 20th consecutive win on her first match point.
(Reporting by Pritha Sarkar, Editing by Alison Williams)
