Mon, Jul 14, 2025 page6

• Swiatek ruthless in final victory

  CHAMPION: Iga Swiatek of Poland stormed to a historic Wimbledon triump on Saturday, becoming the first woman since 1911 to not concede a game in the final

  • AFP, LONDON
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  Iga Swiatek demolished Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in the most one-sided women’s Wimbledon final for 114 years to win her sixth Grand Slam title.

  The Polish eighth seed was in charge from the first point and wrapped up victory in just 57 minutes in a brutal display of precision hitting on Centre Court.

  It is the first time a woman has won a final at Wimbledon without dropping a game since 1911, when Britain’s Dorothea Lambert Chambers triumphed by the same scoreline.

  

  Poland’s Iga Swiatek celebrates with the trophy after beating Amanda Anisimova of the US to win the women’s singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on Saturday.

  Photo: AP

  Swiatek, 24, is just the second player in the Open era to win a major without losing a game in the final since Steffi Graf humbled Natalia Zvereva at the 1988 French Open.

  “It seems super surreal,” said Swiatek, who is the first Wimbledon singles champion from Poland and has now won majors on all surfaces.

  “I didn’t even dream, for me it was way too far. I feel like I am already an experienced player after winning the Slams before, but I never expected this one,” she said. “This year, I really, really enjoyed it and feel I improved my form here.”

  

  Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates with the trophy after beating Amanda Anisimova of the US to win the women’s singles final on the balcony of Centre Court at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on Saturday.

  Photo: AP

  “I am always going to remember the opening of champagne bottles between serves. It is a sound that will keep me awake at night,” she said.

  Swiatek lost just one set during the entire tournament as she won her first trophy on grass, two weeks after reaching the final of the grass-court event at Bad Homburg.

  US 13th seed Anisimova was expected to prove a stern test after ousting world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, but Swiatek performed a demolition job.

  

  Amanda Anisimova of the US reacts as she plays against Poland’s Iga Swiatek during their women’s singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on Saturday.

  Photo: AFP

  Anisimova made a nervous start in hot conditions on Centre Court, with the UK’s Catherine, Princess of Wales, watching from the Royal Box.

  She was broken in the first game, soon slipping 2-0 behind, and the signs looked ominous.

  The American appeared to have found her feet in her next service game, but the merciless Swiatek refused to give ground and recovered to move 3-0 ahead when Anisimova double-faulted.

  At 4-0 down, Anisimova was facing a first-set wipe-out, but she was powerless to halt the rampant Swiatek, who sealed the opener 6-0 in just 25 minutes.

  The American won just six points on her serve in the first set and committed 14 unforced errors.

  An increasingly desperate Anisimova could not stem the tide in the second set, double-faulting again in the third game to give her opponent game point and then netting a backhand.

  The crowd got behind her, but to no avail as Swiatek kept up her level, serving out to win and celebrating before consoling her devastated opponent.

  Anisimova made 28 unforced errors in the 12 games.

  Swiatek is Wimbledon’s eighth consecutive first-time women’s champion since Serena Williams won her seventh and final title at the All England Club in 2016.

  She has won all six major finals in which she has competed.

  Swiatek, who now has 100 career Grand Slam match wins, has won the French Open four times and the US Open once in 2022.

  Her previous best performance at Wimbledon was a run to the quarter-finals in 2023.

  The distraught Anisimova left the court briefly before returning for the trophy presentation.

  The American, who lost in qualifying last year, broke down in tears during her speech on court, calling Swiatek an “incredible player.”

  “I know I didn’t have enough today, but I’ll keep putting in the work,” she said. “I keep believing in myself, and I hope to be back here one day. Thank you, everyone.”
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