After a draining first-round battle against Taylor Townsend that brought her to tears, defending champion Iga Swiatek enjoyed a far more comfortable outing in the second round of Wimbledon, defeating 2021 finalist Karolina Pliskova 6-1 6-3.
Swiatek came out firing, completely overwhelming Pliskova as the former world No. 1 from the Czech Republic quickly fell behind 4-0 and eventually won just nine points in a one-sided opening set that lasted 25 minutes.
At the start of the second set, Swiatek’s intensity dipped slightly, allowing Pliskova to take a 2-0 lead. But the third seed quickly regained control after the world No. 73 handed the break straight back, which turned out to be a pivotal moment in their first-ever meeting on grass. From there, Pliskova unraveled, spraying unforced errors while Swiatek reeled off the final six games to seal a convincing victory and advance to the Wimbledon third round for the sixth time in seven appearances.
Swiatek will next face No. 29 seed Alexandra Eala on Saturday, with a place in the last 16 on the line. Playing her first Grand Slam as a seeded player, Eala advanced after rallying from a set down to defeat Maya Joint 3-6 6-2 6-0, who exits the tournament with a fulfilled lifelong dream after defeating legend Serena Williams in the first round. The head-to-head between Swiatek and Eala stands level at 1-1.
