Iga Swiatek breaks down in tears after surviving nervous start to Wimbledon title defense

Iga Swiatek celebrates scoring a point against Taylor Townsend. (AP photo) LONDON: After just over two hours on court, as Iga Swiatek teetered on the edge, she ended her nervy Wimbledon opener with an ace. The Pole then sank into his courtside seat, buried his face in his hands and sobbed, the defending champion’s face etched with relief at survival.It was a grim start to Tuesday in south-west London. The early drizzle and cold wind eventually gave way to bright afternoon sun. After last week’s heat wave, the cooler conditions offered a welcome respite. However, she ran into rough weather on Center Court, where Swiatek opened her title defense against tricky American Taylor Townsend.Swiatek exploded out of the blocks. After saving five break points in the opening service game, her tennis was as sharp as the blue skies above, taking the first set in just 31 minutes.But Townsend had no intention of disappearing. Dressed in lace and frills, with a large white bow in her hair that seemed to echo the style of her friend Naomi Osaka, who watched from the players’ box, the world number 19 started to weave a softer touch. The 30-year-old player took the lead in two breaks and extended the lead to 4-0 after the defending champion’s tenth error in the set. Swiatek put in a short response on her serve, but the lefty didn’t give up.Swiatek survived a nearly 20-minute opening game in the deciding set, saving four break points before holding serve. She then held her nerve and closed out a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory.

Iga Swiatek gets emotional after winning the women’s singles first round against Taylor Townsend. (AP photo)

The father of the third seed, Tomasz, and sister Agata, sitting in the first row of the Royal Box, cheered on the Pole.“I’m not sure I’m able to talk that much, it’s been a tough couple of weeks. It hasn’t been a season where everything has gone my way. I don’t think I’ve won a three-set match this year, so I’m glad I could do it here,” said the six-time major winner. Her record in three sets this year was 4:12 at Wimbledon. “Finally I kept my cool.Swiatek, barely composed enough to applaud Townsend as Center Court rose to give the American a standing ovation, didn’t waste the opportunity to live up to her hard-earned reputation as Wimbledon’s “towel thief” by stuffing match towels into her bag. The Pole, who is famous for taking as many tournament towels as possible to donate to charity and to give to friends and family, admitted she didn’t keep any of the ones she collected last year.“Last year’s tactics didn’t really help much because I ended up with no towels because everyone took them!” she regretted it. “Even though it went viral last year, I’m not afraid to do it again. I have to go even further.”Swiatek will face Karolina Plíšková of the Czech Republic, the Wimbledon 2021 runner-up, in the second round.Meanwhile, last year’s winner Amanda Anisim advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over North Macedonian qualifier Lina Gjorcheska, while 2024 finalist Jasmine Paolini fought back from a set down to beat Robin Montgomery 0-6, 6-4, 7-5.Despite the defeat, Gjorcheska made history as the first player from North Macedonia to enter the singles draw at a Grand Slam. At 31, she also became the oldest woman to make her Grand Slam singles debut since 1971.Gjorcheska enjoyed her moment on one of tennis’ biggest stages but it was Anisimova, the sixth seed who went winless in last year’s final, who ensured the painful memories of that July afternoon 12 months ago were firmly behind her.