Swiatek storms past Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 for first Wimbledon title

Iga Swiatek is now a Wimbledon champion. The former World No. 1 stormed to her sixth career Grand Slam singles title — and a first at the All England Club — with a 6-0, 6-0 defeat of American Amanda Anisimova in Saturday’s final — making her a Grand Slam champion on all surfaces. 

Wimbledon: Scores Order of play | Draws

In a commanding 57 minutes — and just the second 6-0, 6-0 Grand Slam singles final in the Open Era — Swiatek swept to her first title since she lifted a fourth Roland Garros trophy last spring, and improved her record to 6-0 in major finals. 

In addition to making her the first Wimbledon singles champion from Poland in the Open Era, the victory also marks Swiatek’s 100th career Grand Slam match win. She now is 100-20 in Grand Slam main draws since her Grand Slam main-draw debut in 2019.

Swiatek stamped her authority on the match with the first 6-0 opening set in a women’s singles final at Wimbledon since 1983 — when Martina Navrratilova defeated Andrea Jaeger 6-0, 6-3. Prior to that, the 1973-75 finals all saw 6-0 first sets — including Billie Jean King’s 6-0, 7-5 win over a then-18-year-old Chris Evert in 1973.

“I was in a fog,” recalled Evert of the early stages of that final while commentating for ESPN.

Anisimova found stronger strokes in the early stages of the second set — including a 90-mph forehand winner to pull to 30-30 with Swiatek serving 6-0, 1-0. But it did not translate to the scoreboard, and Swiatek joined Stefanie Graf in an exclusive club of players to win a major final without losing a game. Graf defeated Natasha Zvereva by the same score in the final of Roland Garros in 1988. 

Despite the ending, Anisimova’s effort at SW19 was overall a career-changing one: She scored her first-ever win over a World No. 1 against Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, and will crack the Top 10 for the first time in her career on Monday.

More to come…

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