Iga Swiatek closes out Day 2 on Court 1 with a potentially intriguing match against Sofia Kenin. It has been the weak point for both of these slam champs, with Swiatek never making it past the quarter finals while Kenin has just one third round appearance to her name at SW19. The Pole leads the head to head 2-0 with both wins coming at slams, most recently clinching a 7-6 6-2 win in Australia earlier in the year.
Swiatek is currently on a 19 match winning streak, having dominated the clay season once again. Aside from her early struggle against Naomi Osaka, the Pole was outstanding in Paris as she secured a fourth French Open in five years. The choice not to play a grass warmup means it remains a mystery as to whether she will have finally worked out a surface she has struggled on by her high standards.
After a promising 2023 that suggested she may return to her best, things have been difficult for Kenin this year. The American is just 7-16 on the year, including 1-2 on grass. She followed a one-sided loss to Viktorija Golubic in Eastbourne qualifying with defeat to Harriet Dart in the main draw, suggesting she is unlikely to make much of a splash at Wimbledon this time round.
While Swiatek is clearly vulnerable on grass, a surprise win is likely to require both a bad Swiatek performance and a good Kenin one compared to the power hitters who can take things out of the No.1’s hands. It will be interesting to see how the recent improvements to the Swiatek serve work out on grass, something that could help her greatly in taking her game to the next level on this surface.
Prediction – Iga Swiatek in straight sets
