Swan spreads her wings and flies to victory
FASTEST WIN FOR BRIT TEENAGER
YOUNG British wildcard Katie Swan came of age at Wimbledon yesterday, producing a stunning upset over the World No 36 to make the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
The 19-year-old from Bristol, who is mentored by Andy Murray, blew Romania’s IrinaCamelia Begu off the court in 56 minutes — the day’s fastest win.
Despite saying she was feeling ‘shaky’ with nerves throughout, the teenager found the lines time and time again to secure a shock win in only her second appearance at a Grand Slam.
Swan said: ‘It’s something that I dreamt about as a little girl, to play here. I’m so happy that I managed to come through. It was kind of a long time coming, I think, a result like this. I’ve been doing everything I can to improve. I think it’s finally showing.’
There was no doubting how much the victory meant to her as she ran over to hug her parents — who are based in the US — and her coaches Julien Picot and Diego Veronelli in the crowd.
She now has her eyes on the third round, adding: ‘It isn’t the end. I still want to win my next match.’
Swan is the third youngest player in the women’s singles draw and with a world ranking of 204, was not expected to trouble Begu.
But in front of the packed crowd on Court 14 she showed the talent that took her to No 2 in the world junior rankings and attracted Murray’s management company, which signed her earlier this year.
Swan held to love in the first game and secured an early break to lead 3-1, backing that up with a second break to win the set when Begu double-faulted.
Signs of frustration started to show from the Romanian when Swan went 3-2 up in the second set. She smacked her chair with her racket and sent her water bottle flying.
In the next game, Swan brought up three break points with a stunning, deep return and broke to love, prompting an outburst from Begu to her coaching team. The situation only worsened when Begu fell on the baseline in the seventh game, which Swan won with a serve to give herself a 5-2 lead.
More unforced errors followed from Begu, and Swan sealed the biggest win of her career on her second match point, when Begu double-faulted.
Swan said she would celebrate her win by watching ITV2’s reality show Love Island with friends, before preparing to face 30-year-old Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania in the second round tomorrow.
Swan isn’t fazed by the prospect of playing on a show court, saying: ‘I think the bigger crowd will help me actually. I played on Court 1 in Eastbourne last week, which is also a pretty big court. I like having the support behind me.’
Earlier in the day, 21-year- old wildcard Harriet Dart became the first home player to crash out, losing a closely fought game against seventh seed Karolina Pliskova. The 21-year- old took a nasty tumble in the second set and despite recovering well to force a decider, she could not withstand the onslaught from the Czech world No 8, who won 7-6, 2-6, 6-1.
Dart said: ‘I think I played pretty well. It’s my first time playing here in the main draw singles. Obviously I am disappointed to lose, but there are many positives to take forward.
‘She’s a great player. She’s a Grand Slam finalist, a top- 10 player, previous world No 1. It was always going to be a very tricky match. I think I showed myself well.’