Swiatek destroys Anisimova to win first Wimbledon title
The Polish eighth seed, who has now won all six major finals in which she has competed, was in charge from the first point and wrapped up victory in just 57 minutes.
The 24-year-old 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.
Swiatek, who reached the final of the grass-court tournament at Bad Homburg two weeks ago, has looked increasingly strong while the top seeds tumbled at the All England Club.
She lost just one set in her run to the final.
But US 13th seed Anisimova was expected to prove a stern test after ousting world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals.
Anisimova made a nervous start in hot conditions on Centre Court.
She was broken in the first game, soon slipping 2-0 behind and the signs looked ominous.
She appeared to have found her feet in her next service game but the tenacious 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 first set 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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
Henning goes back-to-back in Hillcrest as Wimbledon dreams fuel his climb
Phillip Henning won back-to-back titles in the Curro Centre Court Series in Hillcrest. Image: Supplied As Jannik Sinner was cementing his place in tennis history with a maiden Wimbledon triumph on Sunday, South African Davis Cup player Phillip Henning was quietly building his own legacy on the courts of Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal — claiming back-to-back titles in the Curro Centre Court Series. The 24-year-old Bloemfontein-born, Stellenbosch-based player had to fight back from a set down to beat Poland's Filip Peliwo, the No 3 seed, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the ITF World Tennis Tour final. The win, coming just a week after another three-set victory over American Adhithya Ganesan at the same venue, marked Henning's fifth Curro title overall — and his second in as many Sundays. Valeria Bhunu of Zimbabwe won one of the two Curro Centre Court Series titles on offer in Hillcrest. Image: Supplied Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'Filip is a tough opponent, doesn't miss many balls, makes you work hard for every point,' Henning told Independent Media Sport. 'I also played him in the semi-finals last week and that was also three sets, so it was another battle. But I'm happy I found a way.' Rain delays on Saturday meant both the semi-finals and the final were played on the same day, adding a layer of fatigue and pressure to Henning's triumph. Yet he thrived, relying on powerful groundstrokes and adaptability in tricky, high-bounce conditions. 'The conditions are tricky — the balls are very bouncy — and I took a while to get used to it,' he said. 'This week I didn't feel at my best at times but I managed to dig deep and find that tough level. I've been playing well, serving well, so overall I'm happy with my game.' Henning's recent success is part of a steady rise since returning to South Africa from the US in 2023, where he played college tennis for the University of Georgia. Now competing on the Futures Tour under the banner of the Coppini Tennis Academy, he's beginning to eye a breakthrough onto tennis's biggest stages. His current ATP ranking hovered around the 400 mark before the Hillcrest tournaments. With Grand Slam qualifiers typically requiring a ranking of 240 or better, he knows there's still work to be done. 'A couple of spots that I still need to climb,' he said with a smile. 'But hopefully I'll get there one day.' He hopes to break into the Top 300 by the end of the year, and believes the exposure to higher-level Challenger tournaments and accumulating ATP points will continue to open doors. 'Just playing on the tour and getting into those Challenger events has opened my eyes and made me see that it is possible,' said Henning. 'It just requires a lot of hard work and sacrifice — but I'm here for it.' In the women's final, top seed Stephanie Judith Vischer of the Netherlands also mounted a comeback, defeating Russia's Kira Pavlova 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Zimbabwe's Valeria Bhunu had won the previous event. For Henning, though, the focus is on the next step — and perhaps, in time, joining compatriot Lloyd Harris on the main stage of world tennis.
The Herald
2 hours ago
- The Herald
Sinner rises above adversity to make Italian history at Wimbledon
'I think you could see that from the first match that he played, that he wasn't carrying any baggage from Roland Garros,' Cahill told reporters. 'That's not easy to do. 'It's easy for us to say that in words, to put it to one side, but for the player to wipe it away and be able to come here with the mentality that he had, is 100% credit to him.' Sinner said the way he lost to Alcaraz in Paris had actually made it easier to move on. 'I always tried to be honest with myself ... I always tried to accept it,' he said. 'I believe if you lose a Grand Slam final that way, it's much better like this than when someone kills you. 'I did a lot of intensity in every practice because I felt like that I could play very good. That's why I also said after Roland Garros that it's not the time to be down, because another Grand Slam is coming up, and I did great here.' Reuters
TimesLIVE
2 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Cafu wraps up Vegas prep for Rodriguez fight, heads for Texas
Sunday was Phumelela 'The Truth' Cafu's last hard training session at the DLX Boxing Gym in Las Vegas, said his trainer Colin Nathan as his charge wrapped up his preparations for the bout of his life against Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez. Cafu's camp fly to Dallas, Texas, on Monday after spending a week in Las Vegas, where they were joined by US-based, South African former IBF mini-flyweight champion Deejay Kriel and Cafu's Johannesburg gym mates Joshua Feldman and Doron Zinman. Cafu meets Rodriguez in a junior bantamweight unification bout on Saturday at the Ford Centre at The Star in Frisco, the 91-acre training campus of the Dallas Cowboys American football team. 'I've pushed Phumelela as hard as I can and honestly I can't push him any harder,' said Nathan, who described their last session on Sunday as 'gruelling'.
