Iga Swiatek survived a Wimbledon scare as the five-time Grand Slam champion fought back for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 win against American world number 208 Caty McNally on Thursday.
Polish eighth seed Swiatek was in danger of becoming the latest star to crash out of the grass-court Grand Slam after losing the first set on Centre Court.
Five of the top 10 seeds have already been eliminated from the women’s singles draw.
But the 24-year-old dug deep to win the final two sets as she moved into the third round.
Despite being a former junior champion at Wimbledon, Swiatek has struggled on grass in her professional career, with none of her 22 WTA titles coming on the surface.
The former world number one, who has won the French Open on clay four times, has never been past the quarter-finals in five previous visits to the All England Club.
Swiatek said she “showed there is hope” for her on grass after reaching the Bad Homburg Open final in the build-up to Wimbledon.
Beaten in the Australian and French Open semi-finals this year, Swiatek can still dream of making it to the Wimbledon final for the first time.
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© Agence France-Presse
