Iga Swiatek will gear up for Wimbledon by staying open-minded about her prospects because the world No.1 bids to enhance her modest report on a floor she has not totally mastered but.
The 22-year-old Pole stamped her authority because the world’s high participant with a 3rd French Open crown by beating Karolina Muchova this month to take her grand slam tally to 4.
While profitable on clay and arduous courts, US Open champion Swiatek has not acquired previous the final 16 at Wimbledon and had her unimaginable 37-match profitable run final yr ended within the third spherical of the grass-court grand slam by Alize Cornet.
Swiatek was eager to return to fundamentals for the grass-court swing, the place the expectations positioned on her are usually not as excessive.
“Before every grass-court season, I just want to keep being open-minded and learn a lot,” Swiatek mentioned after her French Open triumph.
“I feel like there’s maybe a little less pressure, but on the other hand when I just go on court I feel like I know how I can play tennis and I know how I can play on other surfaces.
“On grass generally it is more durable and I nonetheless must study rather a lot however I simply really feel you are going to go on courtroom and never play the best way it’s best to or the best way you could possibly; so this factor is including extra stress.
“The pressure from the outside, it’s maybe a bit less, it depends on you guys (the media) and what questions you ask.”
Swiatek bagged the Wimbledon junior title in 2018 however has an odd report on grass on the tour stage and mentioned forward of the WTA occasion in Bad Homburg this week that she hoped to spend extra time on the floor to seek out the system for fulfillment.
“Maybe there’s going to be a chance to play more matches,” Swiatek mentioned. “But I’m pretty sure that still when I’m going to play these matches, I’m going to feel a bit uncomfortable.
“But I additionally belief that yearly I’m going to study increasingly more and I’m going to progress anyway. It’s a brief season, solely three weeks, so the problem is hard.”
She needed three sets to see off Tatjana Maria in her opener in Germany but finished with a bagel that has become her speciality on the tour, before a comfortable victory over Jil Teichmann in the next round.
Swiatek has dominated the women’s game since replacing the retired Ash Barty as No.1 in April 2022, but she has had to contend with more challengers this year in Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina.
The trio have been heralded as the “Big Three” of women’s tennis and seven-time men’s grand slam champion Mats Wilander believes Swiatek can eventually find her feet on grass courts just like serial clay-court winner Rafael Nadal did.
“There are completely different surfaces the place they’ll be higher and I feel they’ve proved that already,” Wilander advised Eurosport.
“I feel Swiatek goes to be dominating and she or he’s going to be the Nadal of the (girls’s) ‘Big Three’.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
