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Iga Swiatek thrashes Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 to win first Wimbledon title

Iga Swiatek thrashes Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 to win first Wimbledon title

Khaleej Times17 hours ago
Iga Swiatek thrashed American Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0 to become the first Polish player to win a Wimbledon singles title on Saturday, ending a ludicrously lop-sided final in 57 minutes.
The 24-year-old eighth seed was merciless as she took brutal advantage of Grand Slam final debutant Anisimova's leg-sapping nerves in front of a stunned Centre Court.
It turned into a nightmare afternoon for 13th seed Anisimova who became the first player to lose a Wimbledon final 6-0 6-0 for more than a century and the first to do so at any Grand Slam showpiece since Steffi Graf beat Natasha Zvereva at the 1988 French Open.
Swiatek, who had never gone beyond the Wimbledon quarter-finals before this year despite winning four French Open crowns, could never have imagined that claiming her sixth Grand Slam title could have been as straightforward.
She dropped only two games in her semi-final win against Belinda Bencic and was even more ruthless in the final, clinching victory with a backhand winner.
It was Swiatek's sixth win from her first six Grand Slam finals and took her to 100 wins from 120 matches at the majors, the quickest to reach the century since Serena Williams in 2004.
After winning her first trophy since triumphing at Roland Garros 13 months ago, she is also the youngest player to win Grand Slam titles on all the sport's three surfaces since Williams in 2002.
"It seems super surreal," Swiatek, who arrived at Wimbledon under the radar with doubts about her ability to translate her claycourt skill to the lawns, said on court.
"I didn't even dream (about this) because for me it was just like way too far. I feel like I'm already an experienced player, but I never really expected this one."
One had to feel for Anisimova. She never settled, won only 24 points and made 28 unforced errors as her hopes of becoming the first American to win the title since Serena Williams in 2016 were trampled into the turf.
With tears welling up in her eyes, she managed to compose herself to say a few words.
"Even though I ran out of gas a bit today and I wish that I could put on a better performance for all of you, you guys have still been there for me and lifted me up today," she said.
"I know I didn't have enough today, but I'm gonna keep putting in the work, and I always believe in myself, so I hope to be back here again one day."
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Iga Swiatek bulldozed her way to a maiden Wimbledon title on Saturday to take her Grand Slam tally to six and although the Pole preferred not to rank her wins, she said her latest one felt a little more special than the others. The 24-year-old has won four Suzanne Lenglen Cups in the last six editions of the French Open to establish herself as the 'Queen of Clay' and conquered the hardcourts of the US Open in 2022, but the grasscourts of Wimbledon have always proved slippery. Having crossed the quarter-final hurdle for the first time this year, she brutally dismantled Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0 in the final to confirm herself as a versatile virtuoso of the women's game. "I don't know. I think the fact that it's on grass, it makes it more special, I would say, and more unexpected. It feels like the emotions are bigger, because in Roland Garros I know I can play well, and I know I can show it every year," Swiatek said. "Here, I wasn't sure of that. I needed to prove that to myself. I'm not going to rank them, because I just have so much respect for the other tournaments. I worked really hard to win all the other Grand Slams. "So there's no point choosing between them. But this one and the US Open feel, I don't know, better because no one expected that. It wasn't a relief. It was more of good tennis and working to make it happen without baggage on your shoulders." Swiatek reached her first grasscourt final last month at Bad Homburg before her triumphant fortnight at the All England Club and said she was a little surprised with her level on the sport's fastest surface after the French Open. "Well, 'shocked' would be too big of a word. For sure I was surprised with the consistency," Swiatek said. "I knew I can do it before, but I don't think I ever served so well throughout the whole three weeks even. Bad Homburg was also a good tournament in terms of that. It was always more up and down. "I was just using the good feelings I had on the court. It felt great. I know in my mind I can be focused. I'm not going to waste points and let them go for free. But my level of tennis helped me to keep that on a constant level." While Anisimova appeared to have frozen under pressure, Swiatek said she relied on her experience to get through. "Finals sometimes are a bit ugly because there's so much stress. I used the experience from before," she added. "Today I just wanted to enjoy the time that I had on Centre Court and enjoy the last hours of me playing well on grass. Who knows if it's going to happen again. I just focused on that and I really had fun," she added with a smile. "Obviously I was stressed, as anybody would be. But I wanted to just do my job, and that's it."

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