After losing to Danielle Collins in the Australian Open semi-finals, Swiatek talks about her pride of consistently going deep at the Grand Slams, her motivation to dominate the majors and knowing which areas of her game she needs to improve.
Even though I lost in the semi-finals here in Melbourne, my thoughts shortly after the match are that I'm really proud of myself, particularly of my consistency at the Grand Slams.
I have reached at least the fourth round in the past six Grand Slam tournaments - something which no other player has done in the women's singles.
For a few years now, there have been a lot of different women's Grand Slam champions and not one player dominating them in the way, for example, Serena Williams used to.
I am aware of the unpredictability in the Grand Slams and it does motivate me. I want to be that player who is being consistent.
Ash Barty has been the world number one for a long time and is showing you can be consistent at the highest level. With my results, I'm not at her level but I'm only 20 and maybe I will get there in a few years.
She is the kind of player who is giving me hope that I can do that.
Of course I am aware of how open the Grand Slams can be. Even though I try not to look at the draws when I'm playing, it is impossible not to be aware of what's happening.
So I have thought, actually, I could be the one who can find that consistency in them.
| Iga Swiatek's Grand Slam performances | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | French Open | Wimbledon | US Open | |
| 2021 | 4R | QF | 4R | 4R |
| 2020 | 4R | W | - | 3R |
| 2019 | 2R | 4R | 1R | 2R |
I'm not winning lots of tournaments yet but getting to the second week of the Grand Slams right now - at my age and at this stage of my career - is something which I'm very proud of.
I wouldn't have even thought about this kind of achievement two years ago. I hope I can continue doing that.
Like most top athletes, I don't accept losing. But, right now, I feel calm after losing my semi-final to Danielle Collins because I know how well she played and what mistakes I made.
I have a lot of respect for Danielle, how she can play so fast and can control the ball like that. It's probably the fastest ball speed I've ever played against in a match.
I did everything to loosen up a little bit, to get my first serve in, but sometimes it is not enough.
When it comes to what I've learned from today's match, I'd say there is nothing new. My next goals are very clear to me.
With my serve, I need to continuing practising and I think I need to change my approach to it.
Sometimes I lose matches because of my serve, but if I become too focused on it, I think it will be harder to improve.
There are detailed things I will have to change and my team will guide me. It is hard for me, even though I am the one on court, to see every aspect.
You can always serve better and it will make your match easier. That's the first shot so if you serve perfectly your opponent won't have a chance to play.
For sure, I felt Danielle served really well and I didn't have the chance to make it a rally. I often have situations like that as well, where I do serve well, but I want to make it more consistent.
Perhaps some might say I could have solved things like my first serve earlier, but matches like this happen where it is hard to adjust because of how well your opponent is playing.
I would take as a positive that I'm mentally ready to play important matches like these. And I know what I need to be focused on in terms of playing against heavy hitters and improving my serve.
I also want to be happy about my two previous matches, against Sorana Cirstea and Kaia Kanepi, where I fought back to win after losing the first set.
I feel like I won with my heart in those matches because I was fighting until the end. This tournament was really important for me because I saw I had improved my game on a hard court.
Usually after losing in a tournament I don't want to watch the rest of it, but now I'm really curious to see what might happen in Saturday's final.
I'm particularly curious how Ash is going to play and if Danielle is going to play in the same way or worse.
Ash has been the number one in the world for a long time so I'm sure she can - if anyone can - find a solution for beating Danielle. I think it's a bigger possibility that she will do that than me.
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