Iga Swiatek overcame a late start and the lack of a Centre Court crowd to progress into the fourth round of Wimbledon with a straight-sets win over Petra Martic.
Swiatek had been scheduled to play second on the biggest venue at the All England Club on Friday, but Andy Murray’s unfinished match with Stefanos Tsitsipas had to be squeezed in before she did battle with the 30th seed.By the time Swiatek walked out just before 6.30pm, the majority of the crowd had exited following Murray’s five-set defeat.
But the world number one showed why she is a four-time grand-slam champion with a professional display in a 6-2 7-5 victory that equals her best showing in SW19.
After a long wait to begin her quest to make the last-16 for a second time, Swiatek had to save three break points and needed six minutes to hold in her first service game.