If anyone wondered whether Iga Swiatek might take a shred of mercy on the tearful Amanda Anisimova, the first point of the wilting American’s final service game told you all you needed to know.
The most one-sided women’s Wimbledon final in over a century stood 6-0, 4-0 as the pair exchanged one of the few competitive baselines rallies of the match, only for Anisimova to send a two-handed backhand thudding into the top of the net. Swiatek clenched her fist and punched the air. 0-15.
Another fist pump when Anisimova put a backhand long to bring up break point and one more for good measure when Poland’s Swiatek sent a passing shot fizzing by to move one game from victory. Anisimova trudged back to her chair, wrapped an ice towel around her neck, wiped her face and struggled to hold back the tears. Swiatek sipped her water and popped a few supplements.
Three minutes later and it was all over inside an hour. There was to be no mercy.
‘I mean, do you really want to win Wimbledon, you know,’ said Swiatek when Mail Sport asked the new Wimbledon champion if such things ever crossed her mind. ‘Like, if you do, then you’re not going to give any point for free.
‘I’ve seen many matches – and I’ve lost some – where you’re leading 5-2 and then suddenly the momentum changes. On grass, it can change completely. Like, trust me, if you’re winning 6-0, 5-0 and you lose two games, you get tight. You can’t let that happen.
‘This is what tennis is about, using every opportunity. And with a player like Amanda, I know she can play great on grass. She beat Aryna [Sabalenka]. If she’s able to do that, she can repeat it. I can’t let that happen. If I have the opportunity to win my point, I will do it.
‘I have sometimes felt that kind of mercy feeling but not here. It was a Grand Slam final. There was too much at stake.’
For Swiatek, what was at stake was not just a sixth Grand Slam title but proof to herself that she could do it on the Wimbledon grass. ‘It’s the tournament I never expected to win,’ she said.
Swiatek is the world No4 but was the eighth seed. The ‘Queen of Clay’ is a four-time French Open champion but had only made it past the third round here once and never beyond the quarter-final. It was Swiatek’s first Tour-level title on grass despite winning the girls event here in 2018.
This was also her first title in over a year for a player who spent 125 weeks as world No1 as this once ruthless, robotic winning machine began to show she was human after all.
‘People, especially back home, are constantly expecting me to win everything and suddenly losing becomes a surprise rather than winning, which is usually the other way around,’ said Swiatek, who faced a month-long ban last year after testing positive for banned substance trimetazidine that she put down to contaminated pills to help with jet lag.
‘And with all the struggles that I had, and the changes in the team and everything, I needed some peaceful time to just focus on myself and follow my own process, have my own rhythm.’
Safe to say she’s found it.
After her triumph on Centre Court, Swiatek went into the stands to embrace her nearest and dearest where she received a surprise hug from Friends actress Courtney Cox.
Swiatek is a huge fan of the sitcom and last year her sponsors On surprised her by inviting Cox along to an event in Paris and the two hit balls together.
‘It was fun,’ said Swiatek. ‘They know I love Friends, so that’s how we got in touch. She loves tennis. She always posts about it and she plays pretty well. I didn’t know she was going to come here. We’re in touch but I’m glad she didn’t text me because when I know someone famous is going to watch me, I get stressed.’
In the end, there was nothing to stress about, only the emotional state of her opponent who broke down in tears after the match and had to leave court to collect herself before her moving television interview. Not that Swiatek showed it.
‘I can only imagine what she felt on the court,’ said Swiatek. ‘Playing a Grand Slam final is a lot of pressure. I was a bit worried [for her], but I’ve got to say: I wanted this win so bad that I just did my job. That’s it.’
