Yulia Putintseva (No. 35) achieved a significant victory
over world No. 1
Iga Swiatek, as the Pole faltered once again at
Wimbledon. The
5-time Grand Slam champion was the favourite with her incredible streak of 21
consecutive wins that began at the Madrid Open in late April, but she
experienced another early exit at Wimbledon.
The grass courts remain a challenge for Iga, who appears
less dominant than on other surfaces and struggles to advance deep into the
tournament. In her five appearances at Wimbledon, Swiatek has only reached the
quarter-finals once and holds an 11-5 record, the lowest among the four Grand
Slams.
Swiatek’s Wimbledon woes continue
Despite the well-known fact that grass courts are not
Swiatek's preferred surface, seeing the world No. 1 exit in the third round was
unexpected. Putintseva had previously lost to Swiatek four times in her career,
including twice this year, and had never taken a set from the Pole.
However, today the circumstances favoured the Kazakh, who
had a 74% first serve success rate and won 68% of those points, taking full
advantage of the surface. Swiatek took the first set without much trouble but
couldn't find solutions as Putintseva elevated her game.
After losing the first set 3-6, Putintseva dominated the
match, comfortably winning the next sets 6-1, 6-2, securing the biggest victory
of her career and guaranteeing her appearance in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon
for the first time.