Nobody in the last decade has defended a title at the Championships on the women’s tour, and Iga Swiatek is on a run to defy those odds. She picked up a gritty win in the first round against Taylor Townsend and cruised past Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-3 in just over an hour to reach the third round.

After shedding tears following her first-round victory, the Pole had later admitted that it had been a difficult few weeks and that she had not won a single three-set match all season before that day. So during the press conference, reporters wanted to know whether her emotional, three-set survival act against Townsend in round one had somehow unlocked the freedom she played with on Thursday. The follow-up question even framed the Pliskova rout as some kind of emotional release, but the defending champion shut it down without hesitation.

“I think you guys are approaching this a bit too philosophically, so that kind of analysis would be too deep,” Swiatek said. “Simply put, every day is different, and you have to be able to adapt to each one. Today, well, I don’t know, really, that opening match definitely wasn’t easy, but it’s not like I got rid of everything and now I’ll be an oasis of peace for the next two years.”

The numbers backed up her insistence that the two matches were simply separate days rather than one feeding into the other. Against Pliskova, Swiatek raced through the opening set by winning 16 of the first 17 points, needing barely over an hour in total to close out the win. There was not a single service game by the ‘Ace Queen’, where Swiatek did not get a break point opportunity. Her return game was the standout aspect from the pole, as it was rated 9.5 throughout the match. 

It extended a remarkable run for the world number three, who has now reached the third round at all 26 majors played this decade, a feat no other player on the WTA Tour can currently match, and joined Martina Navratilova and Conchita Martinez as the only women in the Open Era to reach the last 32 at 26 consecutive Grand Slams.

Her next assignment carries its own weight of history. Alexandra Eala battled back from a set down to beat Maya Joint 3-6, 6-2, 6-0, becoming the first Filipina to reach the third round at Wimbledon. Swiatek and Eala have split wins in their last two meetings, and they will be playing each other for the first time on grass on Saturday in the third round. This clash will test how well Swiatek’s day-by-day approach holds up against the 29th seed and a spirited form player.