Iga Swiatek ready to reset after Australian Open 4th round exit to Rybakina

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Iga Swiatek says she is ready to go back to the drawing board after her fourth-round exit at the Australian Open. In a marquee matchup between the two reigning major champions from 2022, Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina played flawless power tennis to unseat the top seed 6-4, 6-4.

"Elena was the one that was more solid today, and I felt like it was more about who is going to put more pressure on the opponent and she did that pretty well," Swiatek told reporters after the loss. She served as she does usually. I wanted to [push] her back, but on my service games I felt like I need to work really, really hard to get any point because my first serve wasn't working.

"It was just tough. But for sure I need to work on my mindset and fight a little bit more as I did last season. So, for sure I'm going to take time right now to kind of reset."

A semifinalist in Melbourne last year enjoyed a dominant first week, dropping only 15 games. But the 21-year-old confessed she was feeling a different sense of pressure in the first Slam of the season.

"I felt today that I don't have that much to take from myself to fight even more," Swiatek said. "I felt like I took a step back in terms of how I approach these tournaments, and I maybe wanted it a little bit too hard.

"So I'm going to try to chill out a little bit more. That's all."

Swiatek has been clear about her desire to separate her results from her effort. "Keep your expectations low and your standards high," has been an oft-repeated mantra over the past two seasons.

Swiatek sees no comparison of her Melbourne experience with the last three majors she's played as the top seed -- she won two of them, after all -- but mentally, Swiatek struggled to maintain her tunnel vision through this fortnight.

"I felt the pressure, and I felt that I don't want to lose instead of I want to win," Swiatek said. "So that's, I think, a base of what I should focus on in next couple of weeks."

Swiatek is confident that her Australian Open result will not linger, precisely because her disappointment is not in the result but in the event as a whole.

She leaves Australia with a 6-2 record, with losses to No.3 Jessica Pegula and Rybakina. Swiatek is currently scheduled to play the WTA 500 in Doha and WTA 1000 in Dubai in February.

"I think I'll be able to move past it and also learn from it," Swiatek said. "Usually if my whole experience at the tournament was tougher and then it comes to an end, I'm able actually to not focus about the fact that I lost the match, but about the overall performance and what's going on with me.

"I think it's going to be motivating for me, and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to play next tournaments with something to focus on, something to work on, and I think I'm going to go forward."

February's Middle East swing will kick off an intense series of tournaments for Swiatek, who began her 37-match win streak with a title run in Doha and continued it to win Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome and Roland Garros.

wtatennis.com

Iga Swiatek puts on a dominant performance to reach Australian Open 4th round

 

World No.1 Iga Swiatek of Poland had no trouble reaching the Australian Open Round of 16 for the fourth straight season Friday, dismissing Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa 6-0, 6-1.

Swiatek will now take on last season's Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the Round of 16. Rybakina held off last year’s runner-up Danielle Collins 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in their third-round meeting.

Their upcoming showdown will be the first meeting between reigning Grand Slam champions since Ashleigh Barty defeated Barbora Krejcikova in the 2021 Cincinnati quarterfinals.

Swiatek speaks: "I feel I'm more and more confident since Day 1 here," Swiatek said in her post-match press conference. "I'm not even talking about matches, but also practices. I feel like I've done so much work to feel more confident, more relaxed on court.

"I'm pretty happy that I did it because it's just a little bit easier. When you actually play those matches, you can feel the rhythm a little bit more. I think that's the thing that I am most pleased with."

Looking ahead to Rybakina, Swiatek added: "[Rybakina] really is a solid player. Since we played juniors, I knew that she's kind of going in the right direction. With her serve, she can do a lot."

Swiatek's confidence continues to grow: On Friday, Swiatek came as close as possible to notching the sixth double-bagel win of her professional career, but at 6-0, 5-0, Bucsa at last got on the scoreboard. Swiatek, though, did not stumble and served out the match in the following game. The top seed won 52 points to Bucsa's 19.

Bucsa, who saved a match point in her second-round win over 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, is enjoying her first week inside the Top 100 at a new career-high ranking of No.100.

In her first match against a Top 10 player, Bucsa was overwhelmed by the the No.1 seed. Swiatek needed only 55 minutes to oust the qualifier. Swiatek never faced a break point all day.

wtatennis.com

Next round is going to be the first real test of the tournament for Iga. Serve will definitely have to be on point as will the return, especially since Rybakina is equally adapt at it. 

2022 Roland Garros and U.S. Open Champion vs Wimbledon Champion. I'm ready. Bring it!. 

Jazda Iga!. 

Also congrats on the first bagel of the season :).

Iga Swiatek powers into 3rd round at Aussie Open

Two 21-year-olds faced off on Rod Laver Arena to kick off Day 3 at the 2023 Australian Open, and it was World No.1 Iga Swiatek who prevailed under the closed roof by defeating 84th-ranked Camila Osorio 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour and 24 minutes.

"It was really intense, and pretty physical," Swiatek said in press, after her win. "I think it was much tougher than what the score says."

Here are some takeaways from the top seed’s latest victory on a rainy Wednesday:

Swiatek's power game pays off: Both Swiatek and Osorio had starry junior careers at around the same time. The year after Swiatek won 2018 Junior Wimbledon, Osorio captured the 2019 Junior US Open and ascended to Junior World No.1.

Osorio has already tasted success on the Hologic WTA Tour, winning her first title on home soil in Bogota two years ago, and making two additional finals since. She reached a career-high ranking of World No. 33 in April of last year.

On Wednesday, Osorio’s abilities to hyperextend rallies and change the direction of the ball down the line at a moment’s notice allowed her to hang with the World No.1 in a number of close games. Osorio even broke Swiatek three times, including when the Pole served for the match at 6-2, 5-1.

But in the end, the Swiatek power game which has led her to the top of the rankings was the determining factor. Swiatek used her forehand to great effect, with 13 rally winners from that side.

Swiatek also won 64 percent of points returning Osorio's first serve -- an even better success rate than when she returned the Osorio second serve (57 percent of points won).

"I know [Osorio is] gonna fight till the end and she's not going to give anything for free," Swiatek said. "She made some good decisions as well. I'm pretty happy that I was solid, and that's the most important thing for me."

Swiatek continues to dominate early: The Polish star has also become unshakeable in early rounds of Grand Slams, fortifying her rise to the top. This continued on Wednesday, when she won her 12th straight second-round match at a major. Swiatek hasn't lost before the third round of a major since the 2019 US Open.

Swiatek has now won 53 of her first 65 main-draw Grand Slam singles matches. In the Open Era, only six players had more such wins after their first 65 matches in majors: Margaret Court (61), Monica Seles (60), Chris Evert (57), Martina Hingis (56), Billie Jean King (56) and Tracy Austin (54).

Surprises ahead for the World No.1: Swiatek could have faced a fellow Grand Slam champion in her next match, but instead, she will meet a qualifier in the third round.

Cristina Bucsa, who made her Top 100 debut this very week at World No.100, upset 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu to reach the third round of a major for the first time in her career.

Rising 25-year-old Bucsa knew exactly what she had set up with her big win: she immediately mentioned Swiatek without even being prompted in her on-court interview after beating Andreescu.

"A very big challenge for myself," Bucsa said, when asked to expand further on her upcoming meeting with Swiatek. "I'm going to do all my best, and I hope to see [this crowd] in the next round."

Swiatek has faced Bucsa once before: at a junior event in Umag, Croatia, in 2016. Swiatek won that match 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.

wtatennis.com

Iga Swiatek survives tough first round test at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia -- World No.1 Iga Swiatek began her 2023 Australian Open campaign with a hard-fought 6-4, 7-5 win over Germany's Jule Niemeier. Swiatek will face Colombia's Camila Osorio in the second round on Wednesday.

A semifinalist in Melbourne last year, Swiatek worked hard in her opener. The 21-year-old made clear before the tournament she was not taking Niemeier lightly, and the German once again proved to be a tough matchup for the World No.1.

Facing each other for the second consecutive Slam, Niemeier had already Swiatek to three sets in their last meeting in the Round of 16 at the US Open.

How the match was won: Niemeier maintained sustained pressure on Swiatek's serve throughout the opening set, but when the Pole needed a clutch serve or big backhand down the line, the shots came through. Swiatek withstood the pressure and saved the two break points she faced and then pounced at her first chance to break, breaking the German's serve for the first time to win the opening set.

"Honestly, I really wanted to be focused on myself because I know Jule can serve amazing," Swiatek said. "At the US Open she was really using the fast conditions that we played in."

Niemeier struck back quickly in the second set, earning a first break of the Swiatek serve to build a 3-1 lead and had a slight opening to earn a double-break lead. But Swiatek once again came up clutch to dig out of a deuce game to close the gap to 3-2. Serving to take the match to a decider, Niemeier was broken in Swiatek's best return game of the match to level the score at 5-5.

From there, the Swiatek comeback was on. She held at love to move ahead to 6-5 and then played an outstanding return game to seal her four-game and secure the win after 1 hour and 59 minutes.

Swiatek on managing expectations: "For sure I feel the expectations, that people kind of little bit they want to take for granted that I'm going to win those first rounds," Swiatek told reporters after the match. "It's always not easy. Every match is a different story. You have to really work hard to make it done, to win.

"It just feels like sometimes, they're not treating you still as a human, but more like a robot who has to win."

Stat of the match: Swiatek is on a 19-match win streak at the Grand Slams when she wins the first set.

wtatennis.com

Iga Swiatek talks Australian Open preparation and not taking 1st round opponent lightly

MELBOURNE, Australia -- World No.1 Iga Swiatek confirmed she is fit and ready to go for the first Slam of the season at the Australian Open.

The Polish star is set to get under tournament underway on Monday, kicking off the night session on Rod Laver Arena. She will face a familiar foe in Germany's Jule Niemeier. Ranked No.68, Niemeier is coming off the biggest season of her career, where she made the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

The last time the two faced off, Niemeier came within a set of derailing Swiatek's title run at the US Open. In the Round of 16, Swiatek rallied from a set down to win 2-6, 6-4, 6-0.

"You saw how intense that match was, how tough," Swiatek told reporters at Media Day on Saturday. "It's not going to be easy. But on the other hand, any match at a Grand Slam is always more intense and more stressful than other tournaments. I'll be ready for it.

"It's nice also that we played not so long ago, so I can take a lot from that match. Now I know how her ball feels on the racquet. But she has the same.

"So we'll see."

Don't expect to see a brand-new Swiatek on the court on Monday. Team Swiatek spent the pre-season working on fine-tuning her game rather than complicating it. Coming off her sparkling 2022 season, which saw her engineer a century-best 37-match win streak and win two of the four Slams, Swiatek's philosophy as she starts her year is simple: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

"I would say the differences are going to be smaller," Swiatek said. "I think it's normal because when you get to the point where your ball is pretty fast, it's not like you can make it even faster because you're going to kind of lose control. There are kind of limits in terms of that.

"For me, it's all about staying kind of solid and actually not changing a lot. It worked, so why would I change a lot?"

"[If you look at] the greatest players that are consistent throughout their whole careers, it's not like Novak changed a lot in his game since a few years ago. I think it matters to be able to just be consistent with the best game you have."

Swiatek faces Niemeier at 7:00 p.m. on Monday night. The winner will face either Panna Udvardy or Camila Osorio in the second round.

wtatennis.com

Australian Open Draw: Iga Swiatek, Ons Jabeur top the field

MELBOURNE, Australia -- The draw for the season's first Grand Slam has been revealed at the 2023 Australian Open. The ceremony was conducted on Thursday afternoon at Melbourne Park.

For the complete draw, click here.

World No.1 Iga Swiatek returns to Melbourne Park after posting her best result last year when she made her first hard-court Slam semifinal. The next highest seed in Swiatek's top quarter is No.7 Coco Gauff, and the two could face in the quarterfinals. Gauff kicked off her season by winning all ten sets she played in Auckland to win the ASB Classic.

The second quarter sees No.3 Jessica Pegula and No.6 Maria Sakkari. Pegula comes into her most successful Slam full of confidence after leading Team USA to the inaugural United Cup title. A quarterfinalist in Melbourne in her past two appearances, Pegula went 4-1 at United Cup to open her year, including a stunning straight-sets win over No.1 Swiatek.

Landing in the bottom half of the draw are No.2 Ons Jabeur, No.4 Caroline Garcia, No.5 Aryna Sabalenka and No.8 Daria Kasatkina. Jabeur was unable to play the Australian Open last year due to injury. Despite nursing a back injury in Adelaide 1, the Tunisian has made the final at her previous two Slam appearances and remains an all-surface threat.

Jabeur could face a confident Sabalenka in the quarterfinals. Sabalenka opened her season by ending a 19-month title drought, dominating the field to win her 11th career title at Adelaide 1.

wtatennis.com

Iga Swiatek named Poland's athlete of 2022

She was the WTA's standard-bearer in 2022, and now she's been named Poland's best athlete. Iga Swiatek was named the Polish Sports Personality of the Year on Saturday, the first tennis player to win the award since 1937.

Jadwiga Jedrzejowska, Poland's best player prior to the advent of Open Era tennis in 1968, won the award in 1936 and 1937.

Swiatek beat out soccer star Robert Lewandowski and her fellow tennis player, Hubert Hurkacz, among others, to win the award. Lewandowski, in fact, nominated her for the honor, and Swiatek admitted after her season-ending semifinal defeat to Aryna Sabalenka at the WTA Finals Forth Worth that this year's ballot was on her mind.

“Two years ago, I made it to the second place. Lewandoski was first," she said. "This year, I'm pretty curious what's gonna happen!"

Unable to attend the gala in person, Swiatek credited the support she received in her history-making 2022 season in a scenic social media post from an Australian beach where she acknowledged in the award.

After helping Poland reach the semifinals of the United Cup, Swiatek withdrew from this week's Adelaide International 2 with a right shoulder injury. She'll be the top seed at the Australian Open, which begins on Jan. 16. 

wtatennis.com

    

Iga Swiatek & Hubert Hurkacz clinch semi final birth for Poland at United Cup

 

In a decisive fifth rubber Wednesday, Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz quickly took out Italy's Camilla Rosatello and Lorenzo Musetti 6-1, 6-2 to send Poland into the United Cup semifinals, where the team will face the United States.


Earlier, Magda Linette delivered a must-win point to keep Poland in the tie. Twenty-four hours after clinching her country's win over Switzerland, Linette played a focused, disciplined match to defeat Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-2 in 1 hour and 12 minutes.


The triumph was critical after top-ranked Iga Swiatek gave Poland an initial lead with a 6-2, 6-4 win against Martina Trevisan, before Italy's Matteo Berrettini 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory versus Hurkacz evened the tie at one match each.

The only impediment to Swiatek and Hurkacz's performance was the rain. There is a roof on Pat Rafter Arena, but there were two short delays early in the second set when sideways rain made its way onto the court.

During those breaks, Italy's No. 1 men's singles Berrettini and captain Vincenzo Santopadre urged their team on, providing motivation and tactical advice. But it was not enough as Hurkacz and Swiatek cruised in 65 minutes.

For Swiatek, she played a sharp opening set in singles to roll to in just 34 minutes. Landing 90% of her first serves, Swiatek kept Trevisan at bay and broke the Italian on each of her two break-point chances.

Trevisan tightened up the match in the second set, as Swiatek's level also took a dip. The first five games of the second set lasted longer than the entirety of the first, as the Italian grew in confidence with each Swiatek miss. Swiatek hit just nine unforced errors in the first set but fired 23 in the second.

"It was stressful," Swiatek said. "I feel Martina was really changing the rhythm well. At the end, I tried to be really solid."

Trevisan kept the pressure on Swiatek until the very end. Serving for the win at 5-4, Swiatek was forced to save three break points at 15-40, the last wiped out by a clutch ace. On her first match point, Swiatek dug in to outrally Trevisan and close out the 1-hour and 51-minute match.

"It became tight in the end and Martina really used her chances well," Swiatek said. "She could really give it all because I was the one that was leading. I'm happy that even though Martina came back in the second set, I was able to finish it."

  wtatennis.com

Iga Swiatek & Hubert Hurkacz get to know each other at United Cup

 

Iga Swiatek continues to garner points for Poland at United Cup with win over Bencic

World No.1 Iga Swiatek edged No.12 Belinda Bencic 6-3, 7-6(3) on Monday at United Cup to give Poland an early 1-0 lead over Switzerland. But Marc-Andrea Huesler quickly struck back to level the tie at 1-1.

The winner of the tie will advance to the Brisbane City Final to face either Italy or Brazil out of Group E.

Coming off a 6-1, 6-3 win over Yulia Putintseva, Swiatek unleashed her baseline dominance to earn her second career win over Bencic. Swiatek came out with a clear eye toward holding her position on the baseline and dominating with her forehand and court coverage, and the 21-year-old executed her plan to near-perfection.

"I'm a perfectionist," she said, "but I'm really happy with my performance today because Belinda is playing really fast, taking the ball really early, so it's a totally different rhythm. On this fast surface it's really, really hard."

Swiatek earned her first break of the match in the fourth game to earn a 3-1 lead, but Bencic quickly adjusted her return position to get the break back three games later. But the most dominant returner in the women's game proved her worth immediately, breaking Bencic to 5-3 and holding serve to close out an entertaining 41-minute set.

Swiatek maintained her focus early in the second set, earning an early break to build a 3-1 lead. But Bencic's improved composure kept her dialed in. She withstood Swiatek's return pressure, to stay within a break, and broke the Pole as she served for the match at 5-4 by amplifying her aggression on return. But after a shaky pair of games, Swiatek found her level again to power through the tiebreak and seal the win.

"I got my energy up for the tiebreaker," Swiatek said. "It was stressful as hell, the first tiebreak of the season, but I'm pretty happy that I made it."

The tie continues Tuesday with Hubert Hurkacz set to face Stan Wawrinka and Magda Linette to face Jil Teichmann.

Huesler needed only 1 hour and 13 minutes to beat No.260 Michalski. The lefty used his serve to great effect, going through the match without facing a break point while converting all three break points he earned.

Last year's Sofia Open champion is now 2-0 at the United Cup, having defeated Kazakhstan's Timofey Skatov in three sets in his opening match.

The tie continues on Tuesday with Hubert Hurkacz set to face Stan Wawrinka in the No. 1 men's singles match and Magda Linette to face Jil Teichmann in the No. 2 women's singles match, followed by a potentially deciding mixed doubles match.

wtatennis.com

Iga Swiatek dazzles in mixed doubles with Hurkacz clinches another win for Poland at United Cup

Iga Swiatek hit a jaw-dropping sliding hot shot during her mixed doubles match with Hubert Hurkacz on Day 4 at the United Cup in Brisbane.

Did the World No.1 wrap up 2023's Shot of the Year on Jan. 1? Possibly.

After posting her first win of the season on Day 3 of the United Cup, Iga Swiatek retook the court on Day 4 for mixed doubles. With wins by Swiatek, Hubert Hurkacz and Magda Linette, Poland secured its win over Kazakhstan, rendering the mixed doubles match a dead rubber.

But in a clear sign that Team Poland has its eyes on the United Cup trophy, Captains Dawid Celt and Agnieszka Radwanska delivered their top pairing of Swiatek and Hurkacz to take on Zhebik Kulambayeva and Gregoriy Lomakin.

It didn't take long for Swiatek and Hurkacz to show their quality as a team, as evidenced by Swiatek's incredible point in the sixth game. With Kazakhstan looking to avoid the rangy Hurkacz at the net, Swiatek took every ball from the baseline until Lomakin hit a drop volley that should have been a winner.

Not against Swiatek.

She burst of speed put her on the ball in a flash and the self-professed math geek found the only angle that would yield a winner, going around the net post with a sliding backhand slice:

https://twitter.com/UnitedCupTennis/status/1609526427388641281?s=20&t=g0EHdUi0CJx9NDUT3fTiPA

Swiatek and Hurkacz won the match 6-3, 6-4.

wtatennis.com