Iga Swiatek demolished Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in the most one-sided women’s Wimbledon final for 114 years to win her sixth Grand Slam title.
The Polish eighth seed, who has now won all six major finals in which she has competed, was in charge from the first point and wrapped up victory in just 57 minutes.
It is the first time a woman has won a final at Wimbledon without dropping a game since 1911.
And Swiatek, 24, is just the second player in the Open era to win a major title without losing a game in the final after Steffi Graf beat Natalia Zvereva at the 1988 French Open.
“It seems super surreal,” said Swiatek, who is the first Wimbledon singles champion from Poland in the Open era.
“I didn’t even dream, for me it was way too far. I feel like I am already an experienced player after winning the Slams before but I never expected this one.
“This year I really, really enjoyed it and feel I improved my form here.
“I am always going to remember the opening of champagne bottles between serves. It is a sound that will keep me awake at night.”
Swiatek, who reached the final of the grass-court tournament at Bad Homburg two weeks ago, has looked increasingly strong while the top seeds tumbled at the All England Club.
She lost just one set in her run to the final.
US 13th seed Anisimova was expected to prove a stern test after ousting world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, but Swiatek performed a brutal demolition job.
Anisimova made a nervous start in hot conditions on Centre Court, with Catherine, Princess of Wales, watching from the Royal Box.
She was broken in the first game, soon slipping 2-0 behind and the signs looked ominous.
The American appeared to have found her feet in her next service game but the merciless Swiatek refused to give ground and recovered to move 3-0 ahead when Anisimova double-faulted.
At 4-0 down Anisimova was facing a first-set wipe-out but she was powerless to halt the rampant Swiatek, who sealed the first set 6-0 in just 25 minutes.
The American won just six points on her serve in the first set and committed 14 unforced errors.
An increasingly desperate Anisimova could not stem the tide in the second set, double-faulting again in the third game to give her opponent game point and then netting a backhand.
The crowd got behind her but to no avail as Swiatek kept up her level, serving out to win and celebrating before consoling her devastated opponent.
Swiatek is Wimbledon’s eighth consecutive first-time women’s champion since Serena Williams won her seventh and final title at the All England Club in 2016.
The distraught Anisimova left court briefly before returning for the trophy presentation.
She broke down in tears again during her speech on court.
“You’re such an incredible player and it obviously showed today,” she said, addressing Swiatek.
“You’ve been such an inspiration to me. You’ve had such an incredible two weeks here. Getting to your first Wimbledon final here and winning is so special.”
