LONDON, July 3 (silubaba) -- World No. 1 Iga Swiatek kicked off her Wimbledon campaign in style as she defeated China's Zhu Lin 6-1, 6-3 to progress on Monday.
Landing on the grass-court season with her third title in Roland Garros, and fourth Grand Slam overall, the 22-year-old pulled out of the Bad Homburg Open last week due to "some fever and possible food poisoning."
But the Pole recovered just in time to come to Wimbledon, where she has yet reached beyond the fourth round.
Facing the highest-ranked unseeded player Zhu in her opening match, Swiatek showed her dominance from the start, surging to a 5-0 lead before taking the first set 6-1 in just 35 minutes.
The second set was halted by rain when Swiatek led 4-3, after Zhu broke for the first time in the seventh game. But the top seed came back with more patience, breaking back in the eighth before serving for her victory in the following game.
One year ago Swiatek arrived as French Open champion, too, but also with a 35-match winning streak that was the longest in the women's game in some 25 years. However, she was bundled out in the third round by French veteran Alize Cornet, which saw her winning streak ended at 37 matches.
Next for Swiatek will be the winner between 2022 French Open semifinalist Martina Trevisan of Italy and Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, whose best record at Wimbledon was the second round. ■
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