Iga ¦wiątek was always the first option when it came to listing the favorites of this year’s Australian Open. The leader of the world ranking dominated the competition in the previous season so much that some were unable to identify a rival who, in their opinion, would be able to prevent the Polish woman from winning the title in Melbourne. Jelena Rybakina, representing Kazakhstan, turned out to be an impenetrable barrier in the 1/8 finals, winning 6:4, 6:4. The Wimbledon 2022 champion played a very good match, but the Polish woman herself admitted that she did not stand up to her rival enough.
Świątek often had big problems with controlling her emotions – on the court and after defeats. After the defeat with Rybakina, however, she came to the press conference calmly. She answered questions about her performance, which ended on Sunday, in a matter-of-fact way. At first, it was about finding tennis weaknesses. The main one is still the application of the Polish woman.
– It’s hard to analyze it right after the game, but I definitely missed the first serve and putting more pressure on Jelena. The rival played solidly, but sometimes on the return she practically scored points for free on my second serve – admitted Świątek.
She did not hide that it was not a good match in her performance, and with Rybakina’s very good attitude, the result was a premature farewell to the tournament in Melbourne.
– Generally speaking, Jelena was more solid today. And I was driving with the handbrake on. I will definitely work on it before the next games – assured the 21-year-old calmly.
In her opinion, however, in such matches, the final result is not determined by purely tennis elements. The key is to maintain the momentum.
These are things that cannot be seen with the naked eye. I have the impression that the more elusive things predominate. I’ll discuss it. To give a little more. Have a quieter time before the tournament. Now I was a bit nervous. It cost me a lot of energy to make the game solid – stressed Świątek.
In the third round, she needed just 55 minutes to defeat Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa, and lost the only game of the meeting with a 6-0, 5-0 lead. In the next round she had a huge qualitative leap. Rybakina is seeded with number 22 and is much more dangerous, and they have already found out about it, among others. tennis players who failed at last year’s Wimbledon. The Polish woman could not unequivocally assess whether this task was additionally difficult for her on Sunday.
“After all, we have a day off in a Grand Slam and you don’t kind of go back to the previous match. Here, the ladder was arranged in a strange way, because I started with a match with a girl with whom I almost lost in the US Open and it was a demanding match. Later, the style of play and the game of the opponents a little easier, and now a very solid Jelena. It certainly wasn’t a step-by-step ramp-up, but I don’t think that matters. It was rather that there was not enough energy and fight in me to oppose Jelena – summed up the first rocket of the world.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
