Iga Swiatek extends win streak to 37 matches after being pushed by Pattinama Kerkhove in Wimbledon second round

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Coming into her second-round match at Wimbledon, Iga Swiatek had won 58 of her last 60 sets during a 36-match win streak.

So when she was pushed into a decider on No. 1 Court Thursday, heads naturally turned. Especially as the woman across the net forcing the issue was 138th-ranked lucky loser Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove, who was making just her fourth main-draw appearance at a major event.

Swiatek would ultimately advance, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, after two hours and four minutes, finding her way through a valiant foe, changing conditions and struggles on her forehand wing.

“I think she used all the advantages that she could. I feel like she was using the wind better than me. She wasn’t slowing down her hands,” Swiatek said on court afterwards. “She played a really great match. It seems like she really understood how to play today.

“I’m pretty happy that I could sometimes fight back and just be the last one to play that ball in.”

Kerkhove’s lone victory on the Grand Slam stage occurred at the All England Club a year earlier when she successfully qualified ahead of defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova (who hasn’t competed since) in straight sets. At the age of 30, her clash with Swiatek marked just her 27th tour-level match.

The top seed began her day in a 2-4 hole before stringing together five games to seemingly gain control of the contest. But Pattinama Kerkhove refused to go away.

At 3-3, 15-0 in set two, three successive solid returns helped her create break points, and a kiss from the net on her next return put the Dutchwoman in front. Swiatek’s chance to get back on serve in the following game evaporated when she incorrectly challenged her opponent’s deep backhand. A 0-30 opening at 4-5 was also staved off by Pattinama Kerkhove.

Her inexperience on the big stage and a 27 percent success rate on second serve eventually caught up, however. At 1-2, 30-30, Pattinama Kerkhove made a rare trip forward. As Swiatek’s outstretched backhand came at her in the middle of the court, she let it go. It landed well in. Swiatek proceeded to break with her second forehand winner of the game—all she needed in extending her unbeaten run to 37 matches.

For a place in the round of 16, Swiatek will meet Alizé Cornet. The two have never faced off previously.