Iga Swiatek swept Karolina Pliskova aside to reach the third round of Wimbledon, where the defending champion will take on rising star Alexandra Eala.

The number three seed defeated former finalist Pliskova 6-1 6-3 in just 70 minutes on Centre Court.

After struggling at times during a tense first-round win over Taylor Townsend, a comprehensive triumph was exactly what Swiatek needed after coming into her title defence short on form and confidence.

She won the first four games of the match and went on to comfortably close out the opening set.

Swiatek was given a tougher time of it in the second set, falling behind after being broken early.

But she responded superbly, reeling off three breaks to win six of the last seven games, sealing victory with a break to love and a forehand winner on match point.

Swiatek has now won all four of her meetings with Pliskova after dominating Thursday's clash, which was their first encounter on the grass.

This victory, which was her 20th at Wimbledon, means Swiatek has become just the fifth active player to record 20 or more wins at all four grand slam tournaments, joining Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Elina Svitolina and Madison Keys in an elite group.

She is also now only the third player in the Open Era to have reached the third round at 26 consecutive majors, following Martina Navratilova (35) and Conchita Martinez (30). 

Eala up next after rising star defeats Joint

A meeting with Eala is up next for Swiatek after the youngster ended Maya Joint's run at Wimbledon to reach the third round of a major for the first time.

Joint won a thriller against the returning Serena Williams in the first round and looked on track to spring a surprise against Eala.

But the 29th seed came from behind to win 3-6 6-2 6-0 in just under two hours, avenging a heart-breaking defeat to Joint in last year's Eastbourne final.

After not generating a single break-point opportunity in the first set, Eala racked up 19 such chances across sets two and three as she made her presence felt.

Eala and Swiatek have met twice before, sharing one win apiece with both contests coming in 2025.

It was Eala who defeated Swiatek in the first meeting, winning a quarter-final clash in Miami in straight sets, but the Pole prevailed just a few weeks later in Madrid, coming from behind to win in three sets.

More than a year on, it looks likely to be one of the standout matches in the round-of-32 stage.