Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek, ranked world No. 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association, was defeated by France’s Alizé Cornet at Wimbledon Saturday, ending her 37-match winning streak.
Swiatek, who lost to Cornet, 6-4 6-2, in the third round match, started slow in the opening set dropping the first three games before battling back and taking the next two. The two would split the next four games, but Cornet would eventually win the set.
In the second set, momentum seemed to have shifted as 21-year-old Swiatek jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but Cornet quickly took back control winning the next six games to close out the match.
Congrats @iga_swiatek for being such an amazing leader. Very honored to share the court with you today 🙌 pic.twitter.com/sLDsu5eaxD
— Alize Cornet (@alizecornet) July 2, 2022
“Honestly, yeah usually I am hard on myself. Here, I know how I felt before matches, I know how I felt when I was practicing. Let’s just say that I didn’t feel like I’m in the best shape, so I’m kind of aware that this could happen,” Swiatek said on the win streak after the match.
The Polish two-time grand slam champion’s 37-match win streak, dating back to February, tied for the longest since Martina Hingis in 1997.
135 – Iga #Swiatek stayed unbeaten for 135 days, winning 37 matches in a row (equalling the longest winning streak since 1990) and 6 consecutive titles (Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome and Roland Garros). Dream.@WTA @WTA_insider #Wimbledon2022 pic.twitter.com/DunbHtlcIX
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) July 2, 2022
“I have no words right now, It reminds me of the time I beat Serena on the same court, eight years ago exactly. This court is a lucky charm for me,” Cornet said after the win.
In 2014, the Frenchwoman defeated then No. 1 Serena Williams at Court One to advance to her first career Round of 16 of the grand slam. With the victory, Cornet improves to 4-3 in her career against world no. 1’s Competing in her WTA record-equaling 62nd consecutive major, Cornet will next play against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic Monday.
In Tuesday’s games on Centre Court, Swiatek recorded her 36th consecutive win by beating Jana Fett 6-0 6-3. She dominated the first set against Fett in her first match since the French Open, but had to overcome a tough period in the second when Fett came close to securing a double break.
The top seed recovered from the shaky start to the set and rattled off five games in a row, increasing her winning run to 36 matches.
