Iga Swiatek revealed a twist on Wimbledon’s classic treat of strawberries and cream is fuelling her title challenge.
The Pole’s less-than-stellar record on grass and a disappointing year thus far meant she arrived at the All England Club as something of an also ran.
But being under the radar is suiting the former world number one just fine, and she progressed to the last 16 with a 6-2 6-3 victory against fiery American Danielle Collins.
Afterwards, Swiatek revealed her diet this fortnight has included strawberries and pasta, a childhood favourite in Poland.
The 24-year-old was perplexed by the attention given to her culinary choices, saying: “Why is it such a big thing? Everybody should eat that. I think in summer kids are eating it a lot. It’s just a perfect mix of tastes. We have great strawberries in Poland, as well.
“My dad adds the cream. And some sugar. I try to eat with yoghurt to at least pretend that it’s a good meal.”
Asked which country’s strawberries were better, Swiatek admitted her answer might get her in trouble.
“I think Poland,” she said. “Because we have a better climate for strawberries, right? Now Wimbledon is probably going to ban me from answering these questions. The strawberries are great here, as well. They are different. But they are great.”
Swiatek is a former junior champion but she has often cut an uncomfortable figure at Wimbledon, weighed down by the pressure of expectation on a surface that is not natural to her.
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But this year the Pole is only seeded eighth, while she found her feet on grass by reaching the final of the warm-up event in Bad Homburg last weekend.
She never looked in the slightest trouble against Collins, who has beaten her twice in the past, including on her favoured clay this year in Rome.
There is little love lost between them, with Collins, who reversed a decision to retire at the end of last season and start a family because of fertility issues, criticising Swiatek for “fakeness” in her reaction after pulling out injured during their clash at the Olympics last summer.
Collins is renowned for her feisty attitude on court and earned headlines around the world at the Australian Open in January when, after beating home hope Destanee Aiava in a hostile atmosphere, she blew kisses to the crowd and slapped her bottom.
“Every person that’s bought a ticket to come out here and heckle me or do what they do, it’s all going towards the Danielle Collins Fund,” she said. “Me and my group of girlfriends love a five-star vacation.”
A mid-afternoon Centre Court crowd in SW19 is about as big a contrast as it is possible to get, and Collins simply did not play well enough to apply any psychological pressure to Swiatek.
“I was just in the zone. I knew how I wanted to play and I knew I needed to be brave,” said the five-time grand slam champion, who was particularly effective on serve.
“You can’t let Danielle play her winners. I’m really happy with the performance, it was a good match. It’s much more fun this year. I had some practices where the ball was listening to me, which was pretty new on grass.”
This is only the third time Swiatek has reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, with her best run so far a quarter-final appearance two years ago.
She faces a dangerous opponent next in 23rd seed Clara Tauson, who defeated former champion Elena Rybakina, but, with so many big names already out of the tournament, Swiatek appears to have a good chance of going all the way.
