Swiatek, Zverev power into Wimbledon round three

Defending champion Iga Swiatek cleared a potentially dangerous early hurdle with ease as she defeated former world number one Karolina Pliskova to reach round three at Wimbledon on Thursday.

Czech 34-year-old Pliskova, back on the rise after an ankle injury almost ended her career, landed some heavy artillery on Centre Court but was no match for Swiatek who won 6-1 6-3.

Swiatek, aiming to break the so-called champion's curse and become the first woman for a decade to retain the Wimbledon crown, looked sharp in the sunshine, taking the opening set in 25 minutes before being forced to work a bit harder.

She has now reached the last-32 stage at 26 successive Grand Slam tournaments — a record only bettered by Martina Navratilova and Conchita Martinez.

"I'm feeling more stable today — and that's good. The first round was really emotional for sure," Swiatek, who was pushed to three sets in her opener by Taylor Townsend, said on court. "Today I felt like it was another day in the office.

"Even when she was playing fast and flat, I knew that my spin gives me control."

Pliskova missed the entire 2025 season after rupturing ankle ligaments at the 2024 US Open and began the year ranked 1,054 but has battled back up into the top 100.

Elsewhere, in a showdown between two Americans, Amanda Anisimova displayed her powers of resilience to tame Sofia Kenin 6-2 4-6 7-6(10-3) in the second round.

A year after becoming the first player in more than a century to lose a Wimbledon final 6-0 6-0, the sixth seed looked like she was heading for another heartbreaking defeat at the hands of an opponent she had been expected to beat.

With Kenin now ranked 105th in the world and a shadow of the player who triumphed at the Australian Open in 2020, Anisimova resembled a tortured soul as she surrendered her serve en route to falling 3-1 behind in the deciding set.

Yelling out her frustrations, however, allowed her to get her A-game back on track and after levelling for 3-3, she was once again laser focused and stormed through the tiebreak to seal victory when Kenin netted a service return.

She will next run into another fellow American, 26th seed Madison Keys, for a place in the fourth round.

On the men's side, French Open champion Alexander Zverev continued his bid for a second straight Grand Slam trophy as the German beat unseeded Valentin Royer 6-1 6-3 7-6(3) to move into the third round.

Just weeks after ending his long wait for a maiden major at Roland Garros, Zverev barely put a foot wrong against his French opponent, taking full control of the Court One contest from the outset and overcoming some late resistance to advance.