Swiatek and Collins are ready for another chapter

Wimbledon – With a main print of the Grand Slam of 128 players, the 32 which are classified, by design, should meet in the third round.

But at the end of the game on Thursday, when the third round clashes were finalized at the All England Club, there was a palpable feeling of vertigo, a disconnection of epic proportions. About 17 of these 32 seed players – including five of the first 10 – lacked in combat.

Get this: only four of the 16 third round games present two seed players.

For several days now, journalists have been digging with a legal frenzy for answers.

“I’m not really sure,” said Emma Navarro. “This time of year is around the second half of the season, and for many players, it’s a lot of tournaments in a row, and it’s a fairly long passage in Europe. So maybe it has something to do with it.

“I have the impression that the level is really high, and there are a lot of very small margins between the best and the people who are a little lower. Each day, everything can happen. You know, yes, I think it’s just tennis.”

Who will benefit from this opportunity?

Here is an overview of the third round matches on Saturday:

N ° 7 Andreeva vs Myrrh. Hailey Baptiste

Tête-à-tête: 0-0.

Andreeva posted some ingenuity, beating Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 7-6 (4). It was a learning curve for the 18 -year -old.

“On the grass, I can play more aggressive, and I think that the player who plays a little more aggressive on the surface benefits this player,” said Andreeva. “Now, I try to learn and improve how to finish the point on the net to be more aggressive, so I had the impression that this was working so far.

“Certainly, my level of tennis confidence is increasing a little with more games on the grass.”

Baptiste was a winner of 7-6 (6), 6-3 against Lucky Loser Victoria Mboko.

“I played against his double in Paris, which is completely different to play double on Clay Court and play a single on Grass Court,” said Andreeva. “Yeah, I hope that [coach] Conchita [Martinez] will give me good advice how to play against her.

N ° 8 IGA Swiatek against Danielle Collins

Bas-à-Fore: 7-2, Swiatek, but Collins won the last match, in the third round of this year’s event in Rome, 6-1, 7-5.

This should be a treat, because the two players are in Go-For-IT mode.

Like his idol Rafael Nadal, Swiatek is gradually learning to get out of the moldy mold and ready to increase risk percentages on grass. It is more aggressive (and more uncomfortable), but so far it is bearing fruit.

Swiatek was a winner of 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 against Caty McNally in 2 hours and 25 minutes. Her final numbers looked like this: 44 winners, 36 uncomposed errors, while saving 13 of the 15 breaks against her.

“It’s about being more proactive, I said and sometimes making more courageous decisions and, for sure, the intensity with the leg game,” said Swiatek.

Collins, a winner 6-4, 6-1 against the qualifier Veronika Erjavec, always tries to take the ball early.

“Flat striker, basic player,” noted Swiatek. “Solid service. Likes to be proactive, be aggressive.”

N ° 10 Emma Navarro against n ° 17 Barbora Krejcikov

Tête-à-tête: 0-0.

Krejcikova, the reigning champion, was winner 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 against Caroline Dolehide. After surviving the American not evaluated, Krejcikova was informed that she would play Navarro.

“Interesting – I didn’t know,” Krejcikova said smiling. “Obviously, yes, I don’t really have much to say. I have to look at how it is.”

Almost good, because it turns out. Navarro defeated Veronika Kudermetova 6-1, 6-2. Subsequently, Navarro said that she was impressed by Krejcikova’s performance here last year.

“I think winning a big home, any big home, is a huge success,” she said. “To be able to win seven matches in a row, everyone against the big players, is incredibly impressive. Yes, I think it shows that it has the ability to play very well in this particular surface.

“I think it would be a huge challenge, that’s for sure. But from my end, I feel like I have a lot of tools and the ability to fight this. ”

The physical form could be one of these tools. It was the second consecutive match Krejcikova went to three sets – and she arrived with only six games this year after injuries. Navarro, by consensus, is one of the most capable of the Hologic WTA tour. A quarter -final here last year, she now won six of the eight games in Wimbledon.

N ° 11 Elena Rybakina vs. N ° 23 Clara Tauson

Bas-à-Fore: 2-0, Rybakina, a victory in 2019 in Bastad and a three set victory last year in Miami.

When Rybakina beat Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-1, his career record in Wimbledon rose to an extraordinary 21-3 (.876). The 2022 champion here has lost seven games in four sets.

“Really satisfied with victory,” said Rybakina later. “I look forward to my next game.”

Also she should. Rybakina, who was challenged by injuries and diseases, looks in shape and the grass is suitable for his hard and striking game.

Tauson, Denmark’s 22-year-old, has now won five of the seven games on the grass this year after beating Anna Kalinskaya in a barnburner 6-3, 7-6 (10). Tauson converted his sixth game and, after reaching 0-3 in Wimbledon, is now firmer with two victories.