London: Iga Swiatek took another stride towards tennis greatness as an all-court maestro after ruthlessly tearing apart American 13th seed, Amanda Anisimova, 6-0, 6-0, to lift her first Wimbledon trophy on Saturday.
The big occasion turned into a nightmare for Anisimova, who became the first woman to lose a Wimbledon final by that painful scoreline since 1911.
She also became the first to do so at any major since Steffi Graf routed Natasha Zvereva at the 1988 French Open.
Swiatek was already a U.S. Open champion and a four-time French Open winner.
Her demolition job at the All England Club meant that she became the youngest woman since a 20-year-old Serena Williams in 2002 to lift major titles on all three surfaces.
Her superb display on the sun-drenched lawns of London also ensured she emerged as the first player since Monica Seles in 1992 to win all her first six major finals.
“It seems super surreal,” said Swiatek.
“I didn’t even dream (about this) because for me, it was just way too far. I’m already an experienced player, but I never expected this one to happen.
“I want to congratulate Amanda on an amazing two weeks. Regardless of what happened today, you should be proud of the work you’re doing.
“I hope we’re going to play many more finals here and other tournaments, you have a game for that.”
Swiatek’s triumph ended a barren 13-month run for the Polish 24-year-old, who served a short suspension late last year after an inadvertent doping violation linked to contaminated sleep medication melatonin.
“I want to thank my coach (Wim Fissette). With the ups and downs right now, we showed everybody that it’s working,” Swiatek added.
On another warm afternoon on Centre Court, Swiatek got off to a scorching start, breaking a nervous Anisimova three times en route to dishing out the first bagel.
This prompted some spectators to get behind the American in a bid to help prolong the clash.
A frustrated Anisimova shrieked and desperately looked to her team in the stands for any guidance.
This was after conceding yet another break point early in the second set, and it was not long before her machine-like opponent pulled away further.
Anisimova continued to disappointingly crack under pressure, before Swiatek completed the brutal mauling in 57 minutes with a backhand winner on her second match point to become the first Wimbledon champion from Poland.
The victory took Swiatek to 100 wins from 120 matches at the majors, making her the quickest to get there since Williams in 2004.
Her win also denied Anisimova the chance to become the first American to win the title since her compatriot in 2016.
Swiatek jumped for joy on court before running towards her team in the stands.
She left Anisimova wondering what could have been as she sat in her seat, before the tears began to flow during her on-court interview.
“I didn’t have enough today,” Anisimova said.
She began the tournament with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Yulia Putintseva but admitted to running out of gas in the final.
“I’m going to keep putting in the work, and I always believe in myself. I hope to be back again one day.”
It was a bitter disappointment for U.S. fans who had hoped for an “American Slam” this year, following Madison Keys’ win at the Australian Open at the start of the year and Coco Gauff’s triumph at the French Open last month.
