Iga Swiatek survives three set thriller at Wimbledon

Iga Swiatek celebrates a point during her fourth round match against Belinda Bencic at the Championships Wimbledon. 

Iga Swiatek narrowly survived a battle on center court at the Championships Wimbledon Sunday. The Polish star went the distance against Belinda Bencic, winning 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 6-3 at the All England Tennis Club. Gaining a strong footing in the final set allowed the world number one to control her way to making the quarterfinals.

The world number one suffered a loss at the hands of Bencic back at the United Cup, losing in the second set tiebreak. It was the first of three meetings that all took place on the hard court. In their fourth matchup taking place on grass, the Pole carried the leverage of being most successful, remaining flawless on dropped sets. Bencic had worked hard in their last two outings, going the distance against Danielle Collins and slugging along against Magda Linette two days ago. With a taped-up right arm, the Swiss star knew she needed to be at her full potential against Swiatek.

The 22-year-old traded points on serve with Bencic, but managed to hold serve to begin the match. The Swiss struggled to serve with strength, handing Swiatek breakpoints. Bencic saved one, then drew a pair of errors from her opponent to reach deuce. Two shots to the body of the top seed allowed her to contain the serve. Swiatek rushed through the third, then called the trainer to fix the tape on the ankle that she tried doing herself before the match began.

Play resumed with the two players taking the fourth game to deuce, where Bencic held after a break. The Pole continued to speed through her service, notching her second shutout of the Swiss. Bencic was nowhere near close to having the same tactic but continued to hold her end after the sixth game. The top seed scored her third flawless service, biding her time to strike against the 26-year-old.

Bencic put together her best game in the eighth, challenging Swiatek in the ninth to deny her a clean sweep. Sitting a game from the set, Swiatek charged into Bencic’s service, reaching two set points. Errors helped Bencic get to deuce, and another gave her an AD point. Bencic had a bad hold of the racket that killed her chance to get out of the game. She brought together another chance to clinch the tenth on a crosscourt winner.

Swiatek took a 6-5 lead, keeping the scoreboard pressure on Bencic, but the 14th seed eyed a tiebreak on serve. The top seed hit a return long to send them to the brink, where a leader would be determined. Bencic gained serious momentum winning the first four points against Swiatek. The 22-year-old notched one on serve, only to sit four points down on a Bencic winner. The Swiss star reached set point at 6-1, losing it on a forced error. She had four more in her pocket, holding two to get a leg up on the world number one after one hour and six minutes.

Bencic struggled on the first serve, struggling to get the second serve in shape. Swiatek left the court during the set break but returned to open the second set by breaking Bencic. The 22-year-old stepped it up on serve, keeping an edge on the Swiss. Through five games, the world number one remained in the lead, but Bencic was at her heels waiting for her time to surge forward.

The 14th seed turned the tables, breaking Swiatek in the sixth and consolidating to take a 4-3 lead. The 22-year-old didn’t let her gain another, securing the eighth game, but failed to gain leverage. Bencic was back in front after the ninth, playing for a chance to bounce the top seed on serve. Swiatek put together a love service but erred on game point. Her second attempt landed on the baseline to level the score at five-all, forcing Bencic to require more to pull off the upset.

The Swiss star held up her end in the 11th to return the pressure on Swiatek to keep her tournament going. Bencic played every ball and reached match point on a long error from the number one seed. Swiatek saved one on a great return that forced an error, then after a five-shot rally, placed a crosscourt winner. After a break of deuce, Swiatek got through to force a tiebreak and see if she could force a decider.

After a short battle for control, Swiatek found a whole new level of her game, placing beautiful winners to Bencic and jumping out front. The Pole ran away with the control and took the tiebreak 7-2 to finish the set in one hour and eight minutes. The 22-year-old set the bar with a serve to love against Bencic, only to see the 14th seed achieve the same result. Swiatek pressed the issue, taking a break and service hold against Bencic to lead 3-1. The pace slowed in the fifth, but at the end, it was Swiatek pulling away from the 14th seed.

Bencic cut the margin half on serve in the sixth, but it was a mountain to climb back near the business end of the match. The top seed held the seventh to play for the match, but Bencic strung together points to notch a third win in the set. It was on the number one seed to get the job done on serve in the ninth. Edging ahead on serve, the 22-year-old put all the worries aside, reaching match point. A crosscourt that managed to stay on the tramlines gave the Polish star a sigh of relief as she completed a three-hour and two-minute battle.