Staff Reporter.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek too hot for former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-0 on Thursday to reach her first Wimbledon final.
Swiatek has been unbelievably steady throughout her campaign in London. Today was another example of the 24-year-old executing her game plan to perfection.
She hit two aces and two double faults. She landed 68% of her first serves, winning points on 83% and 50% of her serves. Bencic had zero aces and one double fault. She landed 62% of her first serves, winning points on 52% and 33% of her serves.
“Honestly, I never even dreamed that it’s going to be possible for me to play in the final. So I’m just super-excited and proud of myself and I don’t know, tennis keeps surprising me,” said Swiatek.
“I thought I had lived through everything, even though I’m young, I thought I experienced everything on the court but I didn’t experience playing well on grass, so that’s the first time and I’m super, super excited and just enjoying it.”
Swiatek has won four French Open titles on clay, as well as the 2022 US Open on hard courts, but until this year she had never been beyond the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
She will face Amanda Anisimova for the first time in her career on Saturday after the American 13th seed beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to reach her first Wimbledon final.