Iga Swiatek was completely devastating, leaving just one game and eliminating in 68 minutes the Spanish Sara Sorribes Tormo, who had played very well in Madrid up to these round of 16 finals, but was really able to do little against the number 1 in the world.
“I had already played with her on other occasions and I know how she is on the pitch: I was solid and therefore I feel satisfied,” says the Pole in the press conference. Swiatek, in the quarter-finals, will face a dangerous player like Beatriz Haddad Maia. “You and I are symbols for our countries? When I won Roland Garros 2020 I couldn’t think of it, it’s clear that by moving forward and staying at the top for a while you feel important. Sometimes, when people meet you and talk to you, it makes you think that you should play for them and not for yourself.”
Swiatek is not the first Pole to win at a high level. And someone asks Iga if she has ever spoken about this responsibility with her compatriot Radwanska, in the past a symbol of women’s tennis in their country. “We spoke with Aga but to talk about other things. Now I’m always on tour and I try to manage my life as best I can. For example, yesterday I didn’t train and I went to eat some excellent seafood, dedicating some time to myself. Sometimes it’s essential not to think about tennis.”
The Brazilian, defeated by Iga in the semi-final in Paris last year, is a player who can reach important peaks in performance, but Swiatek is obviously the favourite. “I remember that match, it was much tougher than expected. And then the Brazilian public makes themselves heard, they have a sort of music festival in the stands, so it was certainly a beautiful experience but difficult to manage with the sensations on the pitch. She is very strong, but Now I’m happy with myself. I move well, I’m playing at a good level, I don’t necessarily want to find problems in over-analysing things.”
The press conference also talked about the relationship between Swiatek and his team. “It’s difficult in some ways, because it’s not like in other sports where there is a club that pays the players. I am the youngest of the group but I am also the employer, who chooses his own team and pays them. I get along very well with Tomasz Wiktorowski and the whole team: a coach has to tell you what rotations you need to do, if you need to look for a different movement and things like that. So in practice I pay to be told that I make mistakes (laughs, ed.)”.
Finally, do you often watch your matches and victories on TV? “I practically never do it and I would like to do it more. It happened at the 2019 Canadian Open when I lost to Naomi Osaka and I also hurt myself immediately after that tournament. There I felt that I was starting to have possibilities and so I wanted to watch the highlights. The press conferences? I’ll watch them on holiday, it’s always fun to see myself on television.”