Tennis: Poland’s Świątek into quarter-finals at Wimbledon

Poland’s World No.1 Iga Świątek has advanced to the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, after a heart-stopping match against Switzerland's Belinda Bencic.

Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates winning against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland their Women's Singles 4th round match at the Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon.

Photo: PAP/EPA/ISABEL INFANTES

The Polish star on Sunday beat Bencic after a 3 hours long match, 6(4)-7(7), 7(7)-6(2), 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals at the All England Club.

Iga Swiatek, a #Wimbledon quarter-finalist for the first time 👏 pic.twitter.com/BpL0pPfj3Z

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2023

The 1st seed Świątek will now face either Elina Svitolina or Victoria Azarenka for her first-ever spot in the Wimbledon semi-finals.

Iga for more.

World No.1 @iga_swiatek defeats Belinda Bencic 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 6-3 in a contest that lasted over three hours ⏱#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/BNQogDqP6t

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2023

Meanwhile, Poland’s 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz was expected to face 2nd seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the Round of 16, later on Sunday. 

Świątek on Monday started her 66th week at the top of the WTA world rankings, with a 924-point lead over second-placed Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.

At the end of last month, the Polish star withdrew from the Bad Homburg Open tournament in Germany due to illness.

Earlier in June, Świątek won the French Open for the third time after defeating Karolína Muchová of the Czech Republic in the final to claim her 14th career singles title.

The 22-year-old, coached by countryman Tomasz Wiktorowski, in April last year took over as the new number one in women's tennis, becoming the first Pole to top the world rankings.

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Source: PAP, WTA, Wimbledon,