Iga Swiatek glides past Collins to become live Wimbledon contender

The Guardian

16 hours ago

One positive consequence from Iga Swiatek's relatively poor clay court run has been the benefit of added time. Instead of arriving for the grass court season exhausted from her efforts, for once she had additional time to train, work and adapt her game to the one surface she has yet to conquer.
Swiatek's growing comfort was reflected in an efficient performance as she dismantled the dangerous Danielle Collins 6-2, 6-3 to reach the fourth round.
Swiatek will face Clara Tauson. The 23rd seed upset the 2022 Wimbledon champion, Elena Rybakina, the 11th seed, 7-6 (6), 6-3.
'I was just in the zone,' said Swiatek. 'I knew what I wanted to play and I knew I needed to be brave and just let my hand do the job. Play fast and grab it from the beginning. You can't let Danielle play her winners. I'm really happy with the performance because there were no ups and downs.'
After winning five grand slams, establishing herself as the most successful player of her generation and spending most of the past few years as the world No 1, the No 8 seeding next to Swiatek's name, reflective of her recent difficulties, looks very strange.
The 24-year-old has not won a title since the 2024 French Open and has been open about how her perfectionism, one of her biggest strengths, has been her biggest weakness in recent months, often leading to her becoming overwhelmed by negative thoughts.
Even though she was unable to win a fourth consecutive French Open title last month, it appeared to mark a turning point for Swiatek as she stopped overthinking and began to play with greater freedom again. Putting together a series of confident performances to reach the semi-finals, Swiatek left Paris after her defeat to Aryna Sabalenka feeling as if she had regained her confidence.
While an exhausted Swiatek would usually prioritise rest after her triumphs at Roland Garros, often returning home to Poland for a few days and then playing catch up for the rest of the grass court season, this year she headed straight to Mallorca for grass court prep.
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Her run to the final in Bad Homburg on the eve of the Championships, her first final of the year and her first final on grass, represented another good result despite her loss to Jessica Pegula.
'It's much more fun this year,' she said. 'I had some practices where the ball was listening to me, which was pretty new on grass. I'm just looking for that feeling for the matches as well and today was a good day. In Bad Homburg, I played many good matches so I'm getting confidence. It's a new experience feeling good on the grass.'
There was plenty of subtext to this match. Last year, at the Olympic Games in Paris, the pair had an extended conversation at the net after Collins's retirement from their quarter-final. Collins revealed she had called Swiatek 'insincere' during their handshake.
Collins has made it clear she does not care for Swiatek. In May, Collins was responsible for one of Swiatek's worst clay-court losses in recent years in the third round at the Italian Open.
This time, however, the American had no response to an excellent performance. Swiatek served brilliantly, winning 86% of points behind her first serve. Despite holding on to only one break for most of the second set, she did not lose her serve all match.
On her groundstrokes, Swiatek also struck her forehand brilliantly, constantly using it to dominate the baseline exchanges. She showed her increased comfort with her movement by effortlessly soaking up Collins's and forcing errors with her defence.
With her spinny forehand, her preference for slower surfaces that afford her more time on the ball, her serving struggles and the general challenge of moving well on grass, there are countless reasons why Swiatek has struggled to produce her best on the surface. Many different players and playing styles are capable of thriving on these more forgiving modern courts. Sometimes you just need time.