Momentum, advises the great Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, is the most fragile flower on the planet. On Day 6 at Wimbledon 2022, Iga Swiatek learned all about that as her brilliant 37-match winning streak was hurled off the tracks by Alize Cornet.

The 32-year-old Frenchwoman is becoming quite the expert in defeating world No.1s in the third round on No.1 Court. Eight years ago she thrillingly downed Serena Williams in the last 32 on the same turf.

This time she swapped one red hot title favourite for another, dumping the No.1 seed out of The Championships in an electrifying 6-4, 6-2 win.

"I’m like good wine,” she grinned to the No.1 Court crowd. “In France, good wine always ages well. This court is a lucky charm for me. I want to say I’m a huge fan of Iga. She is so talented and such a nice ambassador of women’s tennis. I'm very flattered I beat her today.

"This is the kind of match I'm living for. I knew I could do it even though she had so many wins in a row because she feels a little less comfortable [on grass] than on other surfaces. So I was just believing and very focused, with the best team on my side - and the best crowd.

"It's a really nice feeling although I need to process it. I'm not completely realising it just now. It's unreal. This is one of the best seasons of my career. I'm having so much fun. I feel good physically. I'm still so motivated. I still have the fire in me."

Of that, there can be no doubt. A win here would have seen two-time Roland-Garros champion Swiatek pull clear of Martina Hingis's 1997 winning streak, to create the longest stint unbeaten since Steffi Graf won 66 straight between 1989 and 1990.

Instead Cornet joins her compatriots Caroline Garcia and Harmony Tan in the fourth round, to equal her best Wimbledon.

The Swiatek forehand which misfired in the second round against lucky loser Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove was fatally awry from the start, much to the dismay of the noisy gaggle of Polish supporters who gathered to see the pride of their nation.

Cornet had done her research on that Thursday encounter and targeted the weakness to immediate effect, going up a double break.

How much more concrete that advantage would have looked had Cornet converted the point she had for 4-0. Instead, their reputations as dominant force and doughty battler were reversed, and Swiatek required three separate opportunities before she could upend one break.

In just her 11th career match on grass, compared with Cornet's 60, the Pole began to find her rhythm.

Swiatek blasted away one attempted Cornet drop shot brilliantly in her efforts to neutralise the second break. But the Cornet advantage held up under the heaviest pressure - an epic rally of 21 strikes saw that drop shot do its stuff deliciously this time. She dug out a gorgeous inside out backhand on the road to 5-3, staying cool to get the set in the bag.

Swiatek exited the court to gather her thoughts about the alien surface. If this was about experience on grass, there could be only one victor – and Cornet, characteristically, was right up for the battle.

Recently Swiatek spoke of having acquired a greater ability to find solutions, to create an advantage over her opponent. She needed that now. But on the resumption she required eight minutes to hold, and she could not make a break of serve stick.

With the permanent strapping on Cornet’s left thigh tightened by the trainer, the Frenchwoman’s determination hardened as a sudden string of Polish errors fuelled a new break.

The match was sliding through Swiatek’s fingers like a cheap bar of soap, and Cornet was pressing on with all the assurance the Pole simply couldn’t find.

At 2-5 and on the wrong end of a double break, Swiatek’s body language shrieked of dejection. Minutes later Cornet served it out to love with absurd simplicity.

When Swiatek lifted the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen for the second time at Roland-Garros last month, just four days after her 21st birthday, it made her the youngest woman to bank multiple Grand Slams since Maria Sharapova captured the US Open in 2006.

She may yet earn a third career Slam in 2022. But it will not be at Wimbledon.

“I know I didn't play good tennis,” said Swiatek in a frank assessment afterwards.

“I was pretty confused about my tactics. When I was practising I didn’t feel in the best shape [on grass]. So I was aware this could happen.

"The thing that I changed this season is I started being more aggressive. It was really comfortable for me to have the initiative and be proactive. But here I couldn't control the ball.

"Then in second set I made few attempts to speed up again, and didn't work out. Usually when I'm coming back, I have some kind of a plan and I know what to change.

"Here I didn't know what to change. I was confused. On grass court everything happens so quickly. I didn't tank it, but I just didn't know what to do.”