Wimbledon 2023: Iga Swiatek underlined favourite status with 'impressive' opening win, says Mats Wilander
Iga Swiatek showed why she's the Wimbledon favourite by brushing off illness to launch her title bid with a resounding win over Zhu Lin. That is the opinion of Eurosport experts Laura Robson and Mats Wilander, who were impressed by the top seed’s start at SW19. Ad Although Swiatek already has French and US Open titles to her name, she is yet to make an impact on grass, with a run to the fourth round in 2021 her best performance yet at Wimbledon.
WimbledonWimbledon 2023: Day 2 Order of Play and schedule – When is Murray v Peniston?15 HOURS AGO But a 6-1 6-3 victory on Monday got the 22-year-old off to the perfect start, says former British No. 1 Robson, especially after a disrupted build-up. “I was so impressed with the turnaround.
She had to withdraw on Friday in Bad Homburg as she was ill and she hadn’t practised a lot over the last few days,” Robson said. “She initially requested a Tuesday start but that’s not how it works at Slams – it’s done by halves of the draw. And to play as well as she did today was really impressive against a tough opponent.” Swiatek will face Spain’s world No.
84 Sara Sorribes Tormo next, who defeated Martina Trevisan in the opening round. The Pole may not have hit the same record 37-match winning streak this year as she did last, but Wilander believes she is better prepared to make a deep run at the All England Club this time around. “She is going to become one of the favourites to win this tournament over the years for sure,” said Wilander.