Iga Swiatek Vs Polina Kudermetova, Wimbledon: Pole Soars Through To Second Round

Polina Kudermetova proved no match for Iga Swiatek as the five-time grand slam champion eased into round two at Wimbledon.

Swiatek, who has not won a Tour-level title since she triumphed for the fourth time at Roland-Garros last year, needed just over 70 minutes to win 7-5 6-1.

The Pole reached her first grass-court final at Bad Homburg last week only to lose to Jessica Pegula, but she proved her quality after overcoming a tricky opening set.

Having had to fend off a break point in the opener before finally getting the better of Kudermetova's serve to avoid a tie-break, Swiatek then clicked through the gears in the second set, sealing the victory with ease. She will take on Catherine McNally in round two.

Earlier, reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova came from behind to beat youngster Alexandra Eala 3-6 6-2 6-1.

Krejcikova looked well out of sorts as Eala surged ahead, but the two-time major winner dragged herself up a level to restore parity, before cruising clear in the decider.

Fifth seed Qinwen Zheng, meanwhile, was downed 7-5 4-6 6-1 by Katerina Siniakova.

Data Debrief: Swiatek extends first-round streak

Since her debut in grand slam main draws in 2019, Swiatek is the woman with the most second-round appearances at the majors (25).

She now holds a 25-1 record in the first round of the grand slams, which is bettered by only five other players after their first 26 such appearances: Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Evonne Goolagong, Monica Seles and Serena Williams (all 26-0).

Zheng, meanwhile, is the second female player in the Open Era to lose in the first round for three consecutive years as a seed at Wimbledon (2023-2025), after Anna Smashnova (2002-2004).