Iga Swiatek has beaten Belinda Bencic to reach the Wimbledon final for the first time in her career.
Swiatek has surprised people at Wimbledon this year, the Grand Slam tournament where she has struggled the most in previous editions.
On top of that, the Pole has had a relatively mixed season, with Swiatek coming under pressure after failing to win Roland Garros for the first time since 2021.
After Swiatek sticking with coach Wim Fissette, she has seen her decision pay off and is just one win away from the Wimbledon title.
Martina Navratilova explains what Iga Swiatek did that was perfect in Wimbledon semifinal
Swiatek won the junior Wimbledon title in 2018, but had been unable to surpass the quarterfinals of the senior event until this year.
After watching Swiatek beat former Olympic champion Bencic, 6-2 6-0, nine-time Wimbledon singles champion Martina Navratilova explained she found so impressive about her semifinal performance.
“This is the most dominant match for sure she has played on grass but it’s one of the most dominant big matches ever,” Navratilova said on the BBC. “The fact she did on grass when she has never been in this position before is even that much more impressive.
“She never let her foot off the gas. She had those two doubles faults at the start of the second set. No problem. That is the only hiccup she had. She was just firing on all cylinders and was so switched on. Never a moment’s doubt. She was in the sweet spot and never let off the gas.”
Martina Navratilova says if she thought Belinda Bencic was struggling physically against Iga Swiatek
There had been some question marks over Bencic’s fitness coming into the match, with the Swiss appearing uncomfortable in the latter stages of her quarterfinal win over Mirra Andreeva.
However, Navratilova did not see any signs of Bencic struggling and believes that the outcome of the match was all down to how Swiatek played.
“We didn’t see any limping or anything like that,” continued Navratilova. “I don’t think it would have made a difference, even if there was no issue at all. But no. She was fine. She was moving well enough and hitting the ball well enough.
“Iga was just hitting it that much harder and they measure that return of serve [quality], it was at 9.8. But to me it was a 10. She was a 10 today in every way. But particularly on return of serve. I don’t think anything Bencic could have done would have made a difference today.”
Swiatek will now look to win her sixth Grand Slam title and first title of any sort since June 2024, as she takes on Amanda Anisimova in the Wimbledon final.
This will be a first senior meeting between Swiatek and Anisimova, with the women’s singles final at Wimbledon taking place on Saturday, July 11 at 4pm BST.
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