Swiatek battles past McNally in Wimbledon Centre Court showdown
Iga Swiatek continued to avoid the upset bug at Wimbledon on Thursday, but the five-time Grand Slam champion had to escape from a one-set deficit to do so.
Wimbledon: Scores | Order of play | Draws
No. 8 seed Swiatek of Poland overcame Caty McNally of the United States 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 in a second-round showdown on Centre Court. Swiatek needed a grueling 2 hours and 25 minutes to defeat her former junior teammate and opponent McNally.
"For sure, second and third set, I played how I wanted to play," Swiatek said afterwards. "In the first, I got stuck a little bit having good score at the beginning. Obviously Caty won the set. I'm happy I just got back and played my game."
22 straight Slam third-rounds: With the win, Swiatek becomes the third player this century to reach the third round at 22 consecutive Slam appearances, joining Amelie Mauresmo and Serena Williams.
Former World No. 1 Swiatek has still not lost before the third round of a Grand Slam since the 2019 US Open, and she is now 23-2 in Grand Slam second-round matches.
Collins awaits: Currently ranked World No. 4 after a run to last week's Bad Homburg final, Swiatek will now take on another American in the third round: former Top 10 player Danielle Collins.
Swiatek leads Collins 7-2 in their head-to-head, but Collins won their most recent meeting on the clay of 2025 Rome in straight sets. Also, Collins' other win over Swiatek came in a huge Slam meeting: the 2022 Australian Open semifinals.
Junior days redux: The Swiatek-McNally history dates back to juniors, with the 2018 Junior French Open being a pivotal moment. They teamed up to win the doubles title at that event, but McNally also got a big win over Swiatek in the singles semifinals that fortnight.
McNally would go on to the 2018 Junior Roland Garros singles final, where she finished runner-up to yet another rising star -- Coco Gauff. Swiatek rebounded and won the very next junior Grand Slam singles title at 2018 Junior Wimbledon.
They had only previously played once at tour-level, where Swiatek topped McNally at 2022 Ostrava in two close sets. McNally took a set from Swiatek this time around on Thursday, but the former World No. 1 regrouped to take the victory.
Match moments: This was a big occasion for McNally, who was in her first Grand Slam second round since the 2023 Australian Open. The 23-year-old American is on the comeback trail after elbow surgery, and entered the Wimbledon main draw on an injury-protected ranking of No. 71.
In the first set, McNally showed why she was on the brink of the Top 50 before injury struck. A two-time Grand Slam doubles finalist, McNally executed some incredible volleys to fight back from 4-1 down and steal the first set from Swiatek.
"I think I lost my intensity [during the first set]," Swiatek said. "Obviously I knew I can play well 'cause I did at the beginning of the match, but I lost the quality, did some unforced errors. Then on grass I feel like the momentum can change pretty quickly."
A key game occurred at 1-0 in the second set, where McNally swatted away five break points. But Swiatek converted her sixth chance of that game, with a big return setting up a crosscourt backhand to break. Swiatek's forehand varied from sublime to error-prone throughout the match, but it was strong enough to ease through the second set.
Swiatek took control down the stretch, winning seven consecutive games to lead 5-0. Serving for the match at 5-1, McNally made one last push and garnered three break points, but the Swiatek power came through and she closed out the win with her fifth ace of the day.
"It's about being more proactive, I would say," Swiatek said. "And sometimes making braver decisions, and for sure the intensity with the footwork.
"You can still raise your intensity and be patient and make smart decisions. It just means that you're going to play these shots really 100 percent."
