Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
Iga Swiatek took another stride towards tennis greatness by ruthlessly tearing apart American 13th seed Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0 and lifting her first Wimbledon trophy on Saturday.
The big occasion turned into a nightmare for Anisimova who became the first woman to lose a Wimbledon final by that painful scoreline since 1911 and the first to do so at any major since Steffi Graf routed Natasha Zvereva at the 1988 French Open.
Already a U.S. Open champion and a four-times French Open winner, Swiatek’s demolition job at the All England Club meant that she became the youngest woman since a 20-year-old Serena Williams in 2002 to lift major titles on all three surfaces.
Her superb display on the sun-drenched lawns of London also ensured that she emerged as the first player since Monica Seles in 1992 to win her first six major finals.
“It’s something that is just surreal. I feel like tennis keeps surprising me, and I keep surprising myself,” Swiatek told reporters after hoisting the gilded Venus Rosewater Dish.
“I’m really happy with the whole process, how it looked like from the first day we stepped on a grasscourt. Yeah, I feel like we did everything for it to go in that direction without expecting it, just working really hard.
“It means a lot, and it gives me a lot of experience. Yeah, I don’t even know. I’m just happy.”
Swiatek’s triumph ended a barren 13-month run for the Polish 24-year-old, who served a short suspension late last year after an inadvertent doping violation linked to contaminated sleep medication melatonin.
“I want to thank my coach (Wim Fissette). With the ups and downs now, we showed everybody it’s working,” Swiatek added.
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