Iga Swiatek’s winning streak lasted an astonishing 132 days and traveled to six countries on three continents, making its way through Qatar, California, Florida, Germany, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom. But the dreaded day came when the 37 winning streak ended. On Saturday, July 2nd, Wimbledon, England, Swiatek lost 6-4 and 6-2 to 32 year old Alizé Cornet of France.
“I mean, what she’s done this year is out of this world,” Cornet stated, “and I can’t believe I’m the one that actually broke the streak.” Cornet has had her best year so far, reaching her first major quarterfinal at the 2022 Australian Open in her 63rd major try and the third round at the French Open. She believes it’s because her career is almost over. “I think that’s why I’m playing so good. It’s because I know it’s almost the end,” Cornet said. She walked onto the court smiling, knowing it could be the last time.
The grass of Court No. 1 even left a veteran like Swietek slipping a bit. Suddenly, she stopped challenging points as much. At 2-4, 15-all, during the second set, Cornet hit an impressive overhead shot, and as Swietek scrambled to get it back, she crashed into the wall behind the baseline.
Cornet, laughing at herself, said, “…But here I couldn’t control the ball. So I needed to slow down a little bit. I was kind of pushing the ball, which sometimes was actually okay … But there in the second set, yeah, I kind of made a few attempts to speed up again and didn’t work out. I didn’t come back to being solid. Also, you know, when you play aggressively and you suddenly change the way you play, it’s not easy to keep that. Yeah, so I got a little bit confused.”
After Cornet won, she didn’t want to know her next opponent. “No, really, please. I just beat the world number one,” she said. “I want to enjoy [it] for a few hours, not knowing what’s next, not envisioning and be like, I’m going to play her, blah, blah, blah. I don’t want to know. Until tomorrow I’m not going to try to be on the social media because for sure I will find out.” (Spoiler alert, it’s Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia, No. 44).
Clearly, this match marked an important event in women’s tennis. Swiatek’s impressive 37 winning streak ended, and Cornet, nearing the end of her road, will end her tennis journey with a spectacular, and well-deserved finale.
“I mean, what she’s done this year is out of this world,” Cornet stated, “and I can’t believe I’m the one that actually broke the streak.” Cornet has had her best year so far, reaching her first major quarterfinal at the 2022 Australian Open in her 63rd major try and the third round at the French Open. She believes it’s because her career is almost over. “I think that’s why I’m playing so good. It’s because I know it’s almost the end,” Cornet said. She walked onto the court smiling, knowing it could be the last time.
The grass of Court No. 1 even left a veteran like Swietek slipping a bit. Suddenly, she stopped challenging points as much. At 2-4, 15-all, during the second set, Cornet hit an impressive overhead shot, and as Swietek scrambled to get it back, she crashed into the wall behind the baseline.
Cornet, laughing at herself, said, “…But here I couldn’t control the ball. So I needed to slow down a little bit. I was kind of pushing the ball, which sometimes was actually okay … But there in the second set, yeah, I kind of made a few attempts to speed up again and didn’t work out. I didn’t come back to being solid. Also, you know, when you play aggressively and you suddenly change the way you play, it’s not easy to keep that. Yeah, so I got a little bit confused.”
After Cornet won, she didn’t want to know her next opponent. “No, really, please. I just beat the world number one,” she said. “I want to enjoy [it] for a few hours, not knowing what’s next, not envisioning and be like, I’m going to play her, blah, blah, blah. I don’t want to know. Until tomorrow I’m not going to try to be on the social media because for sure I will find out.” (Spoiler alert, it’s Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia, No. 44).
Clearly, this match marked an important event in women’s tennis. Swiatek’s impressive 37 winning streak ended, and Cornet, nearing the end of her road, will end her tennis journey with a spectacular, and well-deserved finale.
