Iga Swiatek mentioned she appears like a unique participant from a yr in the past and can go into her Italian Open title protection having cemented herself on the prime of the ladies’s sport following a blistering begin to the season.
The 20-year-old, who went from being an unknown teenager to buying celeb standing after capturing a maiden Grand Slam title on the 2020 French Open, triumphed in Rome final yr by hammering Karolina Pliskova 6-0 6-0 within the ultimate.
Replacing Ash Barty on the prime of the world rankings following the Australian’s shock retirement in March, Swiatek has adjusted nicely to the stress of getting a goal on her again.
She skipped this yr’s Madrid Open due to a shoulder harm and arrives on the venue of her first WTA 1000 crown trying so as to add to titles in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami and Stuttgart and lengthen her 23-match profitable run.
“I feel like I’m a different player right now. Last year … I was still trying to find some kind of consistency in the wins I had and also confirmation that Roland Garros wasn’t just like a (one-off) tournament,” Swiatek informed reporters.
“I really feel like I discovered that and I can transfer ahead and deal with my subsequent targets. For positive, the tournaments I performed this yr have proven me that I can play higher tennis on arduous courts.
“Right now the transition that I’ve to do to clay, it is totally different as a result of often, it was like, ‘whoa, clay, lastly I can play nicely. Right now… I really feel like my stage was excessive anyway. It did not, like, strike me this yr.”
Swiatek mentioned the break after Stuttgart helped her keep recent.
“I had five or six days off without the racquet, which was nice,” mentioned Swiatek, who faces both Shelby Rogers or Alison Riske. “It’s fairly good to have the chance to do one thing like that in between tournaments, in the midst of the season.
“I feel I’m more fresh… mentally and physically I had time to rest.”
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
