A new women's champion beckons
Mumbai, July 12 -- With Iga Swiatek taking on Amanda Anisimova on Centre Court on Saturday, the women's singles final at Wimbledon will be between two players making comebacks in their own idiosyncratic way.
But these returns to form have come in the most unexpected time and place.
Swiatek, the former world No.1 and winner of five Grand Slam titles has been going through a difficult spell (by her standards) ever since she tested positive for a banned substance in August. The "perfectionist" has struggled with form ever since, and has not won a title since she won a third consecutive French Open crown last year.
There weren't many hopes for her to do well at Wimbledon since grass is her least favoured surface.
But over the course of the fortnight, she has held her own, dropping only one set to reach her first Wimbledon final.
"I'm enjoying this new feeling of being comfortable on grass. I'm kind of thinking about it a bit more. I'm enjoying it," she said in the press conference after cruising past Belinda Bencic with a 6-2, 6-0 win in the semi-final. "There is no place to overthink here. You have to follow your instincts. If that is going well, you can rely on them if you feel comfortable. It is kind of fun and different from other surfaces where you have more time to build on a rally."
She takes on a player she has never faced before as a professional player. But in Anisimova, there is a player who, only last year, returned to the tour after taking a mental health break.
The American had never reached the final of a Slam but slowly made her way through the draw, even beating world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in a hard-fought semi-final.
After the win, she talked about the surprise of getting to such a high level so quickly after her return. But she later said that "it goes to show that it is possible."
"When I took my break a lot of people told me that you would never make it to the top again if you take so much time away from the game," Anisimova said in the post-match press conference about her seven-month hiatus in 2023. "That was hard to digest, because I did want to come back, achieve a lot and win a Grand Slam one day. So just me being able to prove that you can get back to the top if you prioritise yourself, that has been incredibly special to me."
In many ways, regardless of the result on Saturday, the comebacks are complete. No matter who wins, there will be no loser....
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