Iga Swiatek dishes out cold revenge on Danielle Collins as long-running ‘fake' feud fuels a ruthless Wimbledon masterclass, writes RIATH AL-SAMARRAI
To use this two-set walloping as proof of Swiatek's authenticity as a contender on grass would be premature, but at the very least she was able to reduce a grudge match to a gentle stroll.
In doing so, coldness prevailed. It prevailed at the coin toss, when Swiatek greeted Collins's smile with the stoniest of expressions, it prevailed when the eighth seed showed no concern for her opponent after a fall in the first set, and it prevailed in how she swatted away any efforts of a recovery in the second.
Quite why they fell out in the first place remains a peculiar mystery.
The basics are that Collins retired hurt from their quarter-final at the Paris Olympics and was consoled by Swiatek on the court, before matters escalated when the American accused the former world No 1 of being 'insincere' and 'fake'.
Those were followed by Collins's cryptic allusions to Swiatek's behaviour in the locker room.
If that was a dent on Swiatek's image, then it paled in significance to her failed drugs test last year, which led to a one-month ban in November after the authorities ruled it a case of accidental contamination.
The knock-on effect has been a winless 2025 for Swiatek, the four-time French Open champion, and no one sensible will have wagered on Wimbledon being the place where the streak is ended.
But in reaching a fourth-round tie against the 22nd seed Clara Tauson, Swiatek is apparently finding comfort on her least preferred surface. Given Tauson's upset victory over world No 11 Elena Rybakina, there is no guarantee that Swiatek can match her best Wimbledon run and progress to the quarter-finals, but she is now operating on a distinctly open side of the draw.
'I am having a great time here,' she said after a 6-2, 6-3 demolition of Collins that was built on two breaks of the 31-year-old's serve in the first four games and a couple more in the second set.
'Honestly, it is much more fun this year,' Swiatek added. 'I had some practices where the ball was listening to me which is pretty new on grass and now I want it in the matches as well. It is a good experience.
'If it is listening, I don't need to do much.'
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