LONDON :Iga Swiatek is still a long way from mastering the art of grasscourt tennis but on Tuesday the Pole took what she hopes will end up being a successful run at Wimbledon as she beat Russia’s Polina Kudermetova 7-5 6-1 in the first round.
Facing a Wimbledon debutant, the five-time Grand Slam champion might have hoped for an easy ride as no doubt she would have liked to escape the Court 2 furnace as quickly as possible with the temperature soaring above 33 degrees Celsius.
Despite being a grasscourt novice, Kudermetova refused to be overawed by the occasion, or her opponent, as she went toe-to-toe from the baseline with Swiatek for 45 minutes.
It was not the kind of first-round trial Swiatek would have wanted as she bids to improve her rather mediocre record at the All England Club, which remains the only major where she has not contested at least a semi-final.
In fact, it was not until the penultimate point of the opening set that Swiatek earned her first break point, which the eighth seed duly converted when Kudermetova netted a backhand to surrender the set.
That blow effectively snuffed out the 22-year-old Russian’s hopes of winning a match at a Grand Slam for the first time as her baseline tactics fell apart in the second.
While Kudermetova had kept Swiatek second-guessing her game-plan for the duration of the 45-minute opening set, the former world number one raced through the second in only 24 minutes, securing the win with a sizzling backhand winner.
“I’m glad my game clicked in the second set and am glad some fans came to see us today as it’s so hot,” Swiatek told the crowd after setting up a second round meeting with American Caty McNally.
