LONDON — The Iga Świątek winning machine broke down on a lush Wimbledon lawn on Saturday as the world number one and red-hot favorite for the title was comprehensively beaten 6-4, 6-2 by France’s Alizé Cornet.
There was a sense of disbelief on Court One as Poland’s Świątek, who had won her last 37 matches over four months, was outplayed by the unseeded 32-year-old.
Even when she fought back from losing the first three games of the match and then also led 2-0 at the start of the second set, top seed Świątek’s usual confidence was missing.
Cornet will face unseeded Australian Ajla Tomljanović in a bid to reach her second Grand Slam quarterfinal this year, having never achieved that before.
She completed her shock victory in one hour and 32 minutes, reeling off the last six games as Świątek disintegrated.
“I feel like maybe I’m like a good wine; in France, a good wine always ages well, that’s what’s happened to me,” Cornet said of her return to form this year.
“It’s unreal — I’m playing one of the best seasons of my career, I feel great on the court. I’m still so motivated and I still have the fire in me.” — Reuters