LONDON: After a little more than two hours on the court, after trembling on the edge, Iga Swiatek got on her nerves Wimbledon ace opener. The Pole then sank into her courtside seat, buried her face in her hands and sobbed, and the relief of survival was etched on the defending champion’s face.It was a gloomy start to Tuesday in South West London. Early drizzle and chilly winds eventually gave way to bright afternoon sunshine. After last week’s heat wave, the cooler conditions offered a welcome respite. However, on center court, where Swiatek began her title defense against tricky American Taylor Townsend, she ran into bad weather.Swiatek exploded off the blocks. After saving five break points in her first service game, her tennis as fresh as the blue sky above, she wrapped up the first set in just 31 minutes.Townsend, however, had no intention of disappearing. Dressed in lace and ruffles, with a large white bow in her hair that seemed to echo the style of her friend Naomi Osaka, who was watching from the players’ box, the world number 79 singles player began to weave a subtle touch. The 30-year-old made a double break and after the defending champion’s tenth error in the set, increased the lead to 4-0. Swiatek answered her serve briefly, but the left-handed player did not give in.Swiatek survived a nearly 20-minute opening game in the deciding set, saving four break points before holding serve. She then held her nerve and closed out a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory.
Iga Swiatek gets emotional after winning her first round women’s singles match against Taylor Townsend. (AP photo)
The third holder’s father, Tomasz, and sister, Agata, who sat in the first row of the royal box, cheered for the lever.“I’m not sure I can talk that much, it’s been a tough couple of weeks. It’s not been a season where everything has gone the way I wanted. I don’t think I’ve won a single match in three sets this year, so I’m happy to be able to do it here,” said the six-time major winner. Her record in three-set matches this year was 4-12 at Wimbledon. “In the end, I kept my lineup.”Swiatek, barely composed enough to applaud Townsend as Center Court rose to give the American a standing ovation, didn’t miss an opportunity to live up to her hard-earned reputation as Wimbledon’s “towel thief”, stuffing match towels into her bag. The Pole, who has become famous for taking as many tournament towels as possible to give to charity and friends and family, admitted she was unable to keep any of the ones she collected last year.“Last year’s tactics didn’t help much because I ended up running out of towels because everyone took them away from me!” she complained. “Even though it went viral last year, I’m not afraid to do it again. I have to go for more.”Swiatek will face the Czech KarolÃna Pliskova, the Wimbledon 2021 runner-up, in the second round.Meanwhile, last year’s runner-up Amanda Anisimova advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over North Macedonian qualifier Lina Gjorcheska, while 2024 finalist Jasmine Paolini fought back from a set down to beat Robin Montgomery 0-6, 6-4, 7-5.Despite the defeat, Gjorcheska made history as the first player from North Macedonia to compete in the singles draw of a Grand Slam. At 31, she became the oldest woman to debut at Grand Slam tournaments since 1971.Gjorcheska enjoyed her moment on one of tennis’ biggest stages but sixth seed Anisimova, who lost last year’s final without winning a game, made sure the painful memories of that July afternoon 12 months earlier were firmly behind her.
