Alize Cornet of France snapped Iga Swiatek‘s 37-match win streak in the third round of Wimbledon, handing the world No. 1 her first defeat since February.
Cornet, a 32-year-old playing her 62nd consecutive major dating to 2007, beat Poland’s Swiatek 6-4, 6-2 to reach the round of 16 at Wimbledon for the first time in eight years. Cornet said afterward that the victory reminded her of her 2014 Wimbledon third round upset of then-No. 1 Serena Williams, also on Centre Court.
“This court is a lucky charm for me,” she said. “If there is a moment you can beat [Swiatek], it’s now, on grass. She feels a little less comfortable than on other surfaces.”
Swiatek had matched the WTA’s longest win streak in 32 years, tying Martina Hingis‘ run of 37 in a row in 1997 before Hingis was upset by Iva Majoli in the French Open final. Steffi Graf won 66 consecutive matches in 1989-90.
Cornet committed just seven unforced errors to Swiatek’s 33. Swiatek was lacking confidence on grass, having not played a tournament since winning the French Open on clay last month.
WIMBLEDON DRAWS: Women | Men
Causing an upset on No.1 Court 🤝 @alizecornet
A moment to cherish for the Frenchwoman 🇫🇷#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/bHnVnxIQ80
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2022
Earlier Saturday, Amanda Anisimova outlasted Coco Gauff in an all-American clash, reaching the fourth round.
Anisimova, who reached the 2019 French Open semifinals at age 17, took out Gauff, the French Open runner-up to Swiatek last month, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-1.
“It’s the most special day, I think, of my career,” said Anisimova, noting it was her first match on Centre Court.
The 20th seed will be favored against 115th-ranked Frenchwoman Harmony Tan on Monday for a place in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
Anisimova, who bounced back after squandering a 4-1 lead in the first-set tiebreak, made the fourth round of all three majors so far this year. She can reach her first major quarterfinal since that 2019 French Open breakthrough.
Tan, who knocked out Serena Williams in her Wimbledon main draw debut, swept Brit Katie Boulter on Saturday.
Gauff, who is 18, seeded 11th and the youngest woman in the top 140 of the world rankings (by more than one year), struggled to win points on her first serve. The powerful Anisimova more often dictated and prevailed despite having 40 unforced errors to 26 winners.
Gauff was bidding to reach the Wimbledon fourth round for a third consecutive time dating to her Cocomania debut in 2019 at age 15.
Brandon Nakashima and Taylor Fritz joined Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe in the men’s fourth round, the most American men to get that far in a major since the 2011 U.S. Open and at Wimbledon since 1999.
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