Swiatek routs Olympic champion Bencic to set up Wimbledon title showdown against Anisimova

Iga Swiatek routed former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-0 on Thursday to reach her first Wimbledon final, where she will face Amanda Anisimova.

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The five-time Grand Slam champion, seeded eighth at the All England Club, dominated her Swiss opponent from the start, wrapping up victory in 71 minutes on Centre Court.

"Honestly, I never even dreamed that it’s going to be possible for me to play in the final. So I'm just super-excited and proud of myself and I don’t know, tennis keeps surprising me,” said Swiatek.

“I thought I had lived through everything, even though I'm young, I thought I experienced everything on the court but I didn't experience playing well on grass, so that’s the first time and I'm super, super excited and just enjoying it.”

On a baking Centre Court, the 24-year-old caught Bencic cold, racing into a 3-0 lead.

Bencic, ranked 35th in the world, found her footing, holding serve twice but Polish star Swiatek broke to love in the eighth game to take the match by the scruff of the neck.

Bencic, who returned to action in October, six months after giving birth to her daughter, Bella, was immediately under pressure in the second set as Swiatek broke for a 2-0 lead.