“Chilled out” Swiatek perfectly poised for Roland-Garros after Rome title
Confidence is high for Iga Swiatek after defeating Aryna Sabalenka and completing the Madrid-Rome double ahead of Roland-Garros
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Iga Swiatek waltzed to her 21st career title in Rome on Saturday afternoon, dispatching world No 2 Aryna Sabalenka in emphatic style, 6-2, 6-3.
The Italian Open final was a stark contrast to the last meeting between the pair, a fortnight ago in Madrid, where Swiatek came within inches of defeat as the match went to a deciding-set tiebreak.
The world No 1 puts her success in Rome down to a relaxed mindset, and what she felt was an ability to “do everything” on the Foro Italico surface.
“Overall I was playing a little bit differently because of the surface and the difference,” explained Swiatek in her post-match press conference. “Honestly [in] Madrid, I didn’t feel like I could do everything. Here I kind of did. I felt like I can really use this surface and this feeling to play even better.”
Less focus on ranking points helps Swiatek play her best
The WTA Tour has been defined the past 18 months by the brilliant rivalry at the top of the game between Swiatek, Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff. Swiatek admitted that at times last year, she was too focused on ranking points, to her detriment.
“I would say that this year I’m less focused on rankings and points compared to last year,” the Pole shared. “I felt like last year I needed to — I didn’t play Miami, so I felt like I needed always to chase. Even though I was first, I felt like I have somebody behind my back.”
Now, Swiatek has revealed that WTA points play less of a role in her thinking, and she’s able to play better tennis as a result.
“But this year, I just feel like I can focus on myself and not really think about that because, honestly, focusing on rankings is never helpful, I would say,” Swiatek explained. “There are plenty of things to focus on that we need to spend our energy for, that is just a waste of energy to focus on points and rankings.”
“No point to overanalyze. I leave that to my coach a little bit.”
Confidence levels high for Swiatek heading into Roland-Garros
Only one female player in history, Serena Williams, has won Madrid, Rome and Roland-Garros in one year.
Now, having completed two thirds of the feat, Swiatek is naturally feeling confident heading into the year’s second Grand Slam.
“Obviously I am confident. I feel like I’m playing great tennis,” declared the 22-year-old.
“For sure, I love to come to Paris again and be there. It’s a great place for me to be. I really enjoy my time there anyway.”
However, Swiatek is still approaching the tournament with a degree of caution, not getting ahead of herself despite recent success.
“I really want to stay humble and really focused on getting everything step by step,” she said. “Grand Slams are different. There is different pressure on the court and off the court.
“These are hard seven matches that you need to win, so I don’t take anything for granted. I’ll just work hard as I did in Madrid and Rome and we’ll see.”
Between now and then, Swiatek says she’ll have a few days off to run some errands and see a few friends, before travelling to Paris and returning to practice mid-week.
