Iva Swiatek says it is "pretty special" to have matched Martina Hingis' run of 37 victories in a row after coming through a tough test with Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove.

The world number one was taken to three sets by lucky loser Kerkhove in Thursday's second-round tie at Wimbledon but came out on top 6-4 4-6 6-3 on Court No. 1.

Swiatek overtook Monica Seles' career-best 36-match winning streak with her latest triumph and can surpass Hingis with victory over Alize Cornet in the next round.

That would see the Pole hold the record for the most successive victories on the WTA Tour since 1990, something she would take great pride in.

"I think another match to this number [37] is pretty special for me, but you know, when I'm out there, I'm not really thinking about that," she said in her on-court interview.

"I'm just trying to play the best tennis possible on grass, and the result is going to come. I don't have full influence in it, but I'm happy that [the winning streak] is 37.

"Now I'm going to do my best to get even more."

Swiatek still has some way to go to match the all-time winning run, with the record held by Martina Navratilova (74 in a row during 1984).

The two-time French Open winner was far from her best against world number 138 Kerkhove in a match lasting more than two hours that saw her broken three times.

She dropped a set for just the seventh time during her incredible run, which stretches back to defeat against Jelena Ostapenko in mid-February.

In doing so, Kerkhove became the lowest-ranked player to win a set against the number one female in the world since Carla Suarez Navarro – also ranked 138 – against Ash Barty at Wimbledon last year.

"She played a really great match, and it seemed that she really understood how to play today," Swiatek added. 

"But I'm really happy that I could sometimes just fight back and be the last one to play that ball in. I'm pretty happy that I'm going to have another chance to play here."

Swiatek has now won 46 matches this year in total. In the entirety of the 2021 season, only Anett Kontaveit and Ons Jabeur (both 48) won more matches.

Up next is former world number 11 Cornet, who is playing her 62nd consecutive grand slam tournament, which ties Ai Sugiyama for the Open Era record.

Iga Swiatek ticked off a whole host of accomplishments as her 34-match winning streak carried her into the French Open final on Thursday.

The world number one was in sensational form heading to Roland Garros after winning five consecutive tournaments.

And there has appeared little prospect of Swiatek slowing in Paris, with her 6-2 6-1 defeat of Daria Kasatkina securing a sixth WTA Tour final appearance in a row.

Swiatek is the first player to make six finals in the first six months of the year since Serena Williams reached seven before the halfway mark in 2013.

She has also now matched Williams' best winning run this century, with only Novak Djokovic in 2011 (43), Roger Federer in 2006 (42) and Venus Williams in 2000 (35) enjoying longer sequences across both the ATP and WTA Tours since 2000.

Swiatek's feats are all the more impressive given her age, as she turned 21 just this week.

Now with 20 wins at Roland Garros, the 2020 champion is the youngest female player to that mark since Martina Hingis in 1999.

Only eight women – Evonne Goolagong, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Hingis, Kim Clijsters and Ana Ivanovic – have reached their second French Open final at a younger age.

Iga Swiatek continued her outstanding form as she cruised into the French Open semi-finals with a 6-3 6-2 win over Jessica Pegula, joining an elite list of young players to have reached the final four in the year's first two grand slams.

In racking up her 33rd consecutive win, the world number one ensured she followed up her semi-final appearance at this year's Australian Open with another deep run at Roland Garros.

On the day after her 21st birthday, 2020 French Open champion Swiatek joined a select group of players in managing that feat, with only six women making back-to-back semi-finals at the tournaments at a younger age than the Pole since the turn of the century.

They are Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Ana Ivanovic, Eugenie Bouchard and Maria Sharapova.

Having become just the fourth woman this century to win five consecutive tournaments on the WTA Tour coming into Roland Garros, Swiatek will go into her semi-final clash against Daria Kasatkina confident of taking another step towards a second grand slam title.