Defending champion Swiatek starts Wimbledon with win

The main draw action at Wimbledon got underway with the defending champion and tournament number 3 seed, Iga Swiatek, facing Taylor Townsend in the first round. Playing on the historic Centre Court, the Polish star secured her spot in the second round by defeating her American opponent 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 in a match that lasted exactly 2 hours and 2 minutes.

Swiatek dominated the opening frame, taking it 6-1, but Townsend found her rhythm in the second set to bounce back with a 2-6 score, forcing a deciding third set. The defending champion regained her composure in the final set, closing it out 6-3 to clear the opening hurdle of the grass-court Grand Slam.

Statistically, Swiatek recorded 21 winners and committed 23 unforced errors, while Townsend finished with 25 winners and 36 unforced errors. In terms of break points, Swiatek converted 3 out of 12 opportunities (3/12), whereas Townsend successfully broke her opponent's serve 5 times out of 7 attempts (5/7). Swiatek won 56% of her first-serve points and 52% of her second-serve points. On the other side, Townsend registered a 67% success rate on her first serve and 48% on her second serve throughout the match.

Image : Al Jazeera