Radwanska warns ¦wiątek: She will face this until the end of her career

Agnieszka Radwańska has not been lucky recently to be able to watch Iga Witek in action. The former tennis player arrived in Melbourne for the tournament of legends after the world ranking leader had already bid farewell to the Australian Open. It was similar at last year’s Wimbledon, when the 21-year-old was eliminated in the third round. Now, however, Radwańska still has someone to applaud at the antipodes – Magda Linette is doing great. The Polish woman has been waiting for a long time to pass the third phase of the struggle in the struggle of this rank. – Finally – sums up the result of a recent colleague from the court Radwańska.

Swiatek meets expectations. “No one can play 100 percent all the time”

Even before the opening match, Witek told journalists about the pressure associated with high expectations – her own and those imposed by others. The 21-year-old returned to this topic after losing in the 1/8 finals to Jelena Rybakina from Kazakhstan.

– Iga is a great tennis player, and tennis is about ups and downs. You have to come to terms with it. No one can play 100 percent all the time. When I watched Iga’s last match, I had the impression that she wasn’t able to play like that then. We also have to give Rybakina that she was very solid. In addition, Iga does not like to play with rivals who present such a style – emphasizes Radwańska.

And he adds that Świątek will face a very difficult year, which is a consequence of last year’s successes. The young player completely dominated the competition, winning eight tournaments, including two Grand Slams. Since April, he has been at the top of the WTA rankings.

– Now Iga will have to defend many points after an amazing last year. With that comes pressure too. It’s not easy being number one. This performance at the Australian Open is another experience for her to face expectations – the former runner-up in the world list points out.

Radwańska was surprised that Świątek was under pressure in the match against Pegula. “Maybe a more difficult moment has come?”

Świątek, after saying goodbye to Melbourne, said that the last few weeks were mentally difficult for her. In early January, fans saw her cry after losing to Jessica Pegula in the United Cup tournament. The 21-year-old was then consoled by Radwańska, who was the captain of the Polish team.

– It was during this match that I saw more pressure from Iga. She was doing well in this regard before, there were no big fluctuations in her game. It’s so surprising that the American is a top girl, and that should take some pressure off Iga. Because it’s not the same when you play against someone who is ranked 100 or 150 and you feel like you have to win. However, it was then that I saw and felt pressure from Iga – recalls the Wimbledon 2012 finalist.

At the same time, she warns Świątek and her fans that there is nothing to count on a reduced tariff. – She will have to face the pressure until the end of her career, I will not discover America here. I think he realizes that. She set the bar high for herself, winning so much and having so many successes to her credit – the former tennis player points out.

In her opinion, the competitor who trained under Tomasz Wiktorowski last season showed that she could cope with such a mental burden.

– After this series of victories, she recorded a few defeats, and then won another Grand Slam title. It means he can handle it. But every year there will be new expectations. Everyone expects you to win more and more. Regardless of what Iga does, everyone will expect victories from her. There is nothing in between here – describes Radwańska.

At the same time, he points out that it is natural for more difficult moments to come. – Maybe this is what came for Iga? That’s sports. He can be brutal. And the thing about tennis is that the competition takes place for many months of the year, there are lots of matches. A lot can happen in that time, on and off the court. So there will be worse moments and Iga is also aware of that. The question is how he will deal with it and how he will get out of difficult situations – analyzes the 33-year-old.

Linette finally used the potential. “She had some blockage.” Difficult endings

He smiles wider when the conversation turns to Linette. The Poznań player, ranked 45th in her career, waited until the 30th appearance in the main Grand Slam bracket to pass the third round. She had stopped at this stage six times before.

– It’s great to see that Magda finally did it. She had had several chances in the 1/8 finals before. Now she has shown amazing tennis from the first round all week. I am not surprised. I knew he could do it. Little potential to reach the second week of competition earlier, but I think she was too tense then, which is why she did not show her tennis – assesses Radwańska.

She admits that Linette was also unlucky in drawing the ladder, because she sometimes hit top rivals at the very beginning. But Radwańska also points out that the 30-year-old has also won with a potentially better opponent in the past, and then lost to a theoretically weaker one.

– She had a blockage. Here, however, she clearly shows that she got rid of it and plays her own. Once again, she won with a player who also plays very well and does not care about it at all – emphasizes our interlocutor, referring to Linette’s Monday victory.

She defeated the fourth seeded French Caroline Garcia 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. Radwańska points out that Linette above all does not disappoint in Melbourne at the most important moments.

– Which is not easy. Tie-breaks, set endings that need to be tightened. She’s actually doing it now. In the match against Garcia, there were some moments in the second set where she slowed down and if she did it until the very end, I don’t think the match would have ended so well. But in the end it was Magda who got her way. And she served well in the last game. It’s not an easy thing to do, and she did it. She deserves a big round of applause for that,” she said.

Linette shone in the United Cup, and she was in the most difficult situation. With Pliskova, dealing with pressure can be decisive

While in the case of Świątek, Radwańska clearly noticed her troubles during the United Cup, so in this tournament she also drew attention to the great game of Linette. The Poznańian won three out of four duels, including those with demanding rivals, and in a situation where she had a lot of responsibility for the team’s result.

– Magda played fantastic matches there. The more so that she did not have an easy crossing, because she was the last of the singles to go out on the court. So it was 2:1 or 1:2. There was pressure with that. She had the toughest situation among the singles players, but she handled it absolutely brilliantly. Especially in the match against Italy, when the question of promotion was being decided – recalls Radwańska.

Linette will not be a favorite in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Wednesday. On the other side of the court, Karolina Pliskova, seeded with number 30, will stand. According to the finalist of Wimbledon 2012, it is difficult to predict the outcome of this duel.

– Both girls look great here. Remember, this is a Grand Slam quarterfinal. It will definitely be important to deal with the pressure, Radwańska points out.