Wimbledon 2026: Swiatek powers into Round 3; Fritz, De Minaur maintain perfect starts
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Wimbledon 2026: Swiatek powers into Round 3; Fritz, De Minaur maintain perfect starts")
Iga Swiatek Photograph: (AFP)
Defending champion Iga Swiatek reached the Wimbledon third round with a straight-sets win over Karolina Pliskova, while Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur also progressed with convincing victories.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek bounced back from a slow start to her Wimbledon 2026 campaign with a convincing 6-1, 6-3 win over former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova in the second round on Thursday (Jul 2). After needing three sets to beat Taylor Townsend in her opening match, Swiatek played much better on Centre Court. The Polish star took control from the beginning, breaking Pliskova’s serve several times with her powerful game and never allowing the Czech player to settle.
Pliskova put up a better fight in the second set, but Swiatek stayed in charge with solid serving and consistent shot-making to complete the victory in straight sets.
The six-time Grand Slam champion showed the confidence that helped her win the Wimbledon title last year, striking cleanly off both wings and moving well on the grass.
With the win, Swiatek moved into the third round, where she will face Filipina player Alexandra Eala, who beat Australia’s Maya Joint.
De Minaur and Fritz advance comfortably
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Fifth seed Alex de Minaur also reached the third round with an easy 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over France’s Adrian Mannarino.
The Australian needed just over 90 minutes to seal the victory, using his speed, strong defence and accurate returning to keep Mannarino under pressure. De Minaur has now reached the third round without losing a set and will next play either Zachary Svajda or Kamil Majchrzak.
Sixth seed Taylor Fritz also continued his impressive run with a 6-2, 6-2, 7-5 victory over fellow American Patrick Kypson.
Fritz dominated the first two sets with his powerful serve and attacking game. Kypson made the third set more competitive and levelled at 4-4, but Fritz responded by earning a crucial break before serving out the match.
Fritz will face either Gabriel Diallo or Lorenzo Sonego in the third round as he looks to reach the last 16.
