Iga Swiatek got a tough draw at Wimbledon. Although she survived a scare in the second round, reaching the last 16 is not expected to be an easy affair for her.
Swiatek will be meeting Danielle Collins in the third round. Like the Pole, Collins too has never reached the semifinals here.
Before arriving in London, Iga Swiatek played in the final of the Bad Homburg Open. She progressed to the final of a grass-court tournament for the first time in her career. At the same time, it was her first final since her victory at the Roland Garros last year. This only means that Swiatek is searching for her first title of the season at Wimbledon.
This season, Swiatek, apart from her defeat to Danielle Collins in the third round of the Italian Open, reached the quarterfinals of every tournament and made it to multiple semifinals. In the previous two Grand Slam events, Swiatek lost to eventual champion Madison Keys in the semifinal of the Australian Open and to eventual runner-up Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal of the French Open.
Sabalenka broke Swiatek’s 26-match winning streak as the Pole, a four-time Roland Garros champion, was chasing her third consecutive title there. Due to her slump in form, even on her favorite surface, Swiatek couldn’t end her trophy drought. Apart from the French Open, she also failed to defend her title at the Madrid Open and the Italian Open.
Before scheduling the match against Collins, Swiatek knocked out Polina Kudermetova 7-5, 6-1 and Caty McNally 5-7, 6-2, 6-1. Collins, on the other hand, breezed past Camila Osorio 6-3, 6-2, and Veronika Erjavec 6-4, 6-1.
Before arriving in London, Collins suffered an opening-round exit at the Libema Open. The 31-year-old has not yet reached a final since losing to Keys in the 2024 Strasbourg Open.
Last year, Collins, who had announced her retirement earlier (but chose to play this year), lifted two titles- the Miami Open and the Charleston Open. This season, she produced her best performance when she reached the semifinal of the Strasbourg Open.
The American ace produced her best performance in Grand Slam events when she reached the final of the 2022 Australian Open, losing the match to Ash Barty. In this year’s Majors before Wimbledon, Collins lost to Keys in the third round of the Australian Open and to Olga Danilovic in the second round of the French Open.
Swiatek did her best at Wimbledon when she reached the quarterfinals in 2023, losing the match to Elina Svitolina. Last year, Yulia Putintseva knocked her out in the third round. Collins has never made it to the quarterfinal of the grass-court Major. Last year, eventual Barbora Krejcikova defeated her in the fourth round.
Collins defeated the 24-year-old for the first time in the third round of the 2022 Australian Open. She registered her second victory over Swiatek when they played in Rome this year. In their nine meetings, the five-time Grand Slam champion holds a 7-2 head-to-head lead.
Anything can happen in this match. Because Swiatek is struggling a lot to win titles, she may end up losing this match.
Match Prediction: Danielle to win in three sets.
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