Match Details
Fixture: (1) Iga Swiatek vs (LL) Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove.
Date: June 30, 2022.
Tournament: Wimbledon 2022.
Round: Second round (Round of 64).
Venue: London, United Kingdom.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Grass.
Prize money: £40,350,000.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | Canada - TSN | UK - BBC & Eurosport | India - Star Sports & Disney+ Hotstar app.
Iga Swiatek vs Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove preview
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will lock horns with lucky loser Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove in the second round of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships on Thursday.
Swiatek has been utterly dominant over the past few months. She arrived at the All England Club on a 35-match winning streak, having won six tournaments in a row, including the French Open. She took on Jana Fett in the first round.
The opening set was completely one-sided as Swiatek dished out a bagel. The top seed did face a break point in the third game of the set, but did well to save it. Fett started the second set on a high as she secured a break of serve.
Swiatek immediately retrieved the break to level the score, but was broken once again in the next game. Fett held serve after that to lead 3-1. The Pole stepped up her game and claimed the next five games in a row to win the match 6-0, 6-3. This was her 36th consecutive win.
Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove came close to making the main draw at Wimbledon for the third time in her career. She lost in the final round of qualifying to Christina McHale. However, following Danka Kovinic's withdrawal, she got in as a lucky loser. She was up against home favorite Sonay Kartal in the first round.
The opening set started with a fair bit of back and forth. Kartal held serve to start the match, following which the duo traded breaks over the course of the next four games. Kerkhoave finally held serve to make it 3-3, and after another couple of games, secured a break to lead 5-4.
Kerkhove then served for the set and clinched it on her second set point. Kartal didn't fester in disappointment for too long, as she stormed back to bag the second set. Unfortunately, the Brit was unable to sustain her level and the deciding set was one-way traffic.
Kerkhove jumped to a 5-0 lead. After a hold of serve from Kartal, she closed out the match to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
Iga Swiatek vs Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove head-to-head
They haven't faced off prior to this, so the head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.
Iga Swiatek vs Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove odds
(All odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Iga Swiatek vs Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove prediction
Swiatek has transformed into a winning machine this year and looks unstoppable at the moment.
While Swiatek's opening-round scoreline might come across as yet another routine win for her, she did face some issues. She didn't compete in any of the build-up events to Wimbledon and playing in her first match on grass, the rust was quite evident. Her serve and forehand weren't as effective, and against a better player, she could've been in trouble.
Swiatek will need to raise her level before she comes across a top player in the draw. Despite being far from her best, the World No. 1 did well to defeat Fett. She has done this throughout the season, finding a way to win even when her game isn't clicking.
Kerkhove committed 41 unforced errors in her first-round contest. She won't be able to take advantage of Swiatek's miscues if she doesn't tighten up her game. She'll need to play the match of her life to challenge the top seed, and even then isn't likely to come out on top.
Pick: Iga Swiatek to win in straight sets.
Also Check Out :-Wimbledon 2022 Schedule