Iga Swiatek's staggering admission amid 25-year first at Wimbledon

World No.1 Iga Swiatek has given her Wimbledon rivals a sniff of hope after conceding that she still finds playing on the grass at the All England Club "pretty tricky".

The Polish superstar was eager to play down expectations at Wimbledon after struggling to a hard fought 6-4 4-6 6-3 win over Dutch qualifier Pattinama Kerkhove in just over two hours.

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That was despite the French Open champion extending her stunning winning streak to 37 matches in a feat not seen in 25 years since Martina Hingis achieved it in 1997.

Swiatek matched the Swiss great's personal record of 37 wins in a row, which has not been topped on the WTA Tour since Steffi Graf's (66 consecutive wins) own extraordinary run came to an end at the hands of Monica Seles in 1990.

Swiatek may be fresh from winning the French Open but has only played twice before at SW19, and admits that she is still not at home playing on the famed grass surface.

“Honestly during a match I don’t even think about the previous matches and the streak because I don’t think it’s giving me anything at that point,” the 21-year-old said.

“For sure my confidence, I build it during this season. It’s better. It’s getting better and better on every tournament.

“I would say the grass is pretty tricky for me. I’m not going to lie. I mean, I guess you can see that I’m not playing maybe as efficiently as on other surfaces.

“Basically my confidence is getting better overall. But this tournament is tricky and I’m still feeling out how to play the best game here.”

Alize Cornet, who this week suggested she suspected a number of players had Covid-19 at Roland Garros but hid it, is up next for Swiatek in the third round.

Two-time grand-slam champion Swiatek saw one of her potential rivals for the Championships exit at the start of day four after 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova suffered a shock defeat to Britain’s Katie Boulter.

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Boulter had beat the sixth seed at Eastbourne last week but still upset the odds with a 3-6 7-6 (4) 6-4 success on Centre Court.

The British hope's win, which sent her through to last-32 at the All England Club for the first time, came two days after her grandmother died.

“I’ve tried to kind of get my emotions out and deal with the situation, try and keep my head on the tennis," Boulter said.

"I was lucky because my grandpa managed to come down from Leicester, so we could keep him company and keep supporting him at the same time.”

Heading towards a potential collision course with Swiatek is Australian, Ajla Tomljanovic, who surged into the third round with a 6-2 6-2 mauling of American qualifier Catherine Harrison.

Showing no signs of caving in to the pressure of filling the impossible shoes of retired reigning champion Ash Barty, the 29-year-old had too much firepower for Harrison, seeing off the Wimbledon debutant in one hour, 26 minutes.

The world No.45 is yet to drop a set this campaign, conceding only nine games en route to the last 32, where she will face 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova.

Provided Swiatek comes through her third round clash, the Polish star will face the winner of the showdown between Tomljanovic and Krejcikova in the last 16.

Elsewhere, Serena Williams’ conqueror Harmony Tan will face home favourite Boulter next after she beat Sara Sorribes Tormo.

Heather Watson was another British winner on the fourth day after she needed eight minutes to seal an overnight victory against China's Wang Qiang.

There were tears on Court Two after Simona Halep, who won here in 2019, consigned Kirsten Flipkens to retirement with in a 7-5 6-4 win.

with agencies

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