Swiatek surprised by surge to Wimbledon final

Iga Swiatek says she is surprised by her run to the Wimbledon final after dispatching former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic with ease on Thursday.

The five-time Grand Slam champion wrapped up a dominant 6-2, 6-0 semi-final victory against her 35th-ranked opponent in just 71 minutes on Centre Court.

The Polish eighth seed is more renowned for her strength on clay, with four French Open titles among her collection of trophies.

She also won the 2022 US Open on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows.

But the former world number one is just one victory away from winning on the grass of Wimbledon — her least successful Grand Slam before this year.

“Honestly, I never even dreamed that it’s going to be possible for me to play in the final,” said the 24-year-old, whose previous best at Wimbledon was a run to the quarter-finals in 2023.

“So I’m just super-excited and proud of myself and I don’t know, tennis keeps surprising.”

Swiatek, who will face US 13th seed Amanda Anisimova in Saturday’s final, has not won a title since the French Open last year.

After slipping down the rankings, she is  back in the world’s top four having reached her first ever grass-court final at Bad Homburg last month.

Despite her impressive form, she has largely gone under the radar at the All England Club this year, dropping just one set so far.

Swiatek said in her post-match press conference that she was enjoying her new-found prowess on grass.

“Every Slam is totally different,” she said. “It’s hard to compare these journeys. But for sure, like, for now I’ve been enjoying just this new feeling of being a bit more comfortable on grass. I’m kind of maybe thinking about it a bit more.

“For sure I’m enjoying it. But obviously there have been Slams where I enjoyed my game as well.”

The Polish player said it was important not to overthink her approach on grass.

“You kind of have to follow your instincts… this is kind of fun in some way and different from other surfaces where you have more time to build the rally or something,” she said.

Anisimova overcame top seed Aryna Sabalenka in three hard-fought sets earlier on Thursday and will face Swiatek for the first time in their professional careers.

“For sure, she must be playing great,” said Swiatek. “She also had great tournament before Wimbledon (reaching the final at Queen’s). She knows how to play on grass. 

“With her game style, the surface fits her. So it’s going to be a challenge.

“I haven’t watched a lot, so I’m going to just prepare tactically tomorrow.”