Iga Swiatek advances to Wimbledon 2023 second round after an easy win over Zhu Lin (AFP Photo)
Iga Swiatek defeated China’s Zhu Lin 6-1, 6-3 to win her Wimbledon 2023 first round game, and she will face off against Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo next
World number one Iga Swiatek racked up the first five games on her way to sweeping past China’s Zhu Lin to reach the Wimbledon second round on Monday.
Reigning US Open and French Open champion Swiatek came through 6-1, 6-3 against her 34th-ranked opponent.
Top seed Swiatek, who has yet to progress beyond the fourth round at the All England Club, will face either Martina Trevisan of Italy or Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo for a place in the last 32.
“I feel confident and did a good job of adjusting to grass,” said the 22-year-old after an 81-minute win that was completed under the roof of Court One as heavy rain disrupted play on the outside courts.
“After winning Roland Garros last year, I felt overwhelmed but this year I took the time to appreciate it and then went back to work.”
Five-time champion Venus Williams, the 43-year-old American who made her debut at the tournament in 1997, takes on Elina Svitolina on Centre Court.
Williams is playing the singles event for the 24th time.
She faces Ukraine’s Svitolina, whose articulate lobbying for support of her country in its war against Ukraine has caught the imagination.
Svitolina said she feels no bitterness towards the All England Club after they decided to lift the ban on Russian and Belarusian players.
“They had to choose. There was pressure there, they didn’t want to lose a Slam tournament but we are still thankful that they banned them last year.”
“It’s what we fought for,” added Svitolina, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 2019.
This year’s tournament will be played under tightened security over fears that climate activists could disrupt matches following high-profile protests at other sporting events.
Three protesters from Just Stop Oil ran onto the ground during the second Ashes Test at Lord’s last week, sprinkling the group’s trademark orange powder.
“Of course we’ve taken account of what we’ve seen elsewhere so security has been uplifted in various places around the grounds,” said All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton.
The event will also see a relaxing of the club’s famously strict all-white clothing rule.
In a bid to ease period anxiety, female players will be allowed to wear dark-coloured underwear beneath their white skirts.
“I wore black shorts at the Eastbourne tournament so it really helped,” said British player Heather Watson.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)
