Swiatek through to Wimbledon third round after dominant win against Pliskova

[p]Czech 34-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pliskova-karolina/xGn9KNfO/"]‌Pliskova[/a], back on the rise after an ankle injury almost ended her career, ‌landed some heavy artillery on Centre Court but was no ‌match for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/swiatek-iga/jNyZsXZe/"]Swiatek[/a] who [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/pliskova-ka-xGn9KNfO/swiatek-i-jNyZsXZe/?mid=61IWKeF4"]won 6-1 6-3[/a].[/p][p]Swiatek, aiming to break the ‌so-called champion's curse and become the first woman for a ‌decade to retain the Wimbledon crown, looked sharp in the sunshine, taking the opening set in 25 minutes before being forced to work a ‌bit harder.[/p][p]She has now reached the last-32 stage ⁠at 26 successive Grand ‌Slam tournaments - a record only bettered by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/navratilova-martina/2aq8yN0m/"]Martina Navratilova[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/martinez-conchita/thawKAds/"]Conchita Martinez[/a].[/p][p][b]"I'm ​feeling more stable today - and that's good. The first round was really emotional for sure," [/b]Swiatek, who was pushed ​to three sets in her opener by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/townsend-taylor/Y9jUuHka/"]Taylor Townsend[/a], said on court. "Today I felt like it was another day in ⁠the office.[/p][p]"Even when she ​was playing fast and flat, I knew that my spin gives me control."[/p][embed guid="6e418ee1-494a-4910-a871-fb13374ddf90" url="https://x.com/Wimbledon/status/2072689529916473579" social-type="twitter" /][p]Pliskova missed the entire 2025 season after rupturing ankle ligaments at the 2024 U.S. Open and began the year ranked 1,054 ‌but has battled back up into the top 100.[/p][p]She reached the Wimbledon final in 2021 and there were flashes of the pulverising ground strokes and powerful serve as she occasionally managed to knock six-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek out of her comfort zone.[/p][p]Pliskova even led 2-0 at the start of the second set but double-faults gifted Swiatek successive service breaks and the Pole needed no second invitation to race to victory.[/p][p]Told that Navratilova, ‌who was commentating on the match, had given her an ​A+ for her performance, Swiatek said there was still some ‌room for improvement.[/p][p][b]"I felt like I played so many dirty shots in that final game especially, I wasn't able to control them that much,"[/b] she said. [b]"So maybe not A+, more like B I would say."[/b][/p][p]Swiatek will face 29th seed ⁠Alexandra Eala of the Philippines ⁠after she beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/williams-serena/ttsu68nH/"]Serena ‌Williams[/a]' conqueror Maya Joint 3-6 6-2 6-0.[/p]