'That is the only hiccup she had' - Martina Navratilova details Iga Swiatek's dominant Wimbledon win over Belinda Bencic

Former World No.1 Iga Swiatek wasted little time in her Wimbledon semifinal on Thursday, breezing past 2020 Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic to reach her first final in London.

The Polish star was firing on all cylinders during the encounter, recording a 6-2 6-0 victory over her Swiss opponent. Having historically performed poorly at Wimbledon, Swiatek has been one of the players to beat and is a favorite to lift the title on Saturday.

Navratilova impressed by Swiatek's clinical performance

The nine-time Wimbledon singles champion was full of praise for Swiatek after the match. Navratilova lauded the former World No.1's poise and focus, highlighting how Swiatek made only a handful of errors during the semifinal encounter.

"This is the most dominant match for sure she has played on grass but it’s one of the most dominant big matches ever,” said Navratilova on the BBC. “The fact she did on grass when she has never been in this position before is even that much more impressive.
“She never let her foot off the gas. She had those two doubles faults at the start of the second set. No problem. That is the only hiccup she had. She was just firing on all cylinders and was so switched on. Never a moment’s doubt. She was in the sweet spot and never let off the gas."

There was some doubt regarding Bencic's fitness during the match, but Navratilova believes injury had nothing to do with the final outcome.

"We didn’t see any limping or anything like that,” continued Navratilova. “I don’t think it would have made a difference, even if there was no issue at all. But no. She was fine. She was moving well enough and hitting the ball well enough.
“Iga was just hitting it that much harder and they measure that return of serve [quality], it was at 9.8. But to me it was a 10. She was a 10 today in every way. But particularly on return of serve. I don’t think anything Bencic could have done would have made a difference today."

Swiatek will face American Amanda Anisimova on Saturday in the women's final. Both women are making their Wimbledon final debut, with Anisimova upsetting World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in their semifinal clash on Thursday.