lost to Danielle Collins 4: 6, 1: 6 match for the final. It’s a pity, but our 20-year-old tennis player was successful in Melbourne anyway. The Australian Open Semi-Final marks her second-best Grand Slam performance in her career, following her triumph in 2020.
– I perceive everything that has happened in Melbourne in the last two weeks a bit differently than the success at Roland Garros in 2020. Now I am more aware of how much work must be put into success. Now it was definitely not a fairy tale story – Iga tells us.
Łukasz Jachimiak: Congratulations on your success and thank you for all the pre-heart attacks we experienced in the middle of Polish nights!
Iga Świątek: Ha ha! Thank you very much. I felt support from Poland. Both in the stands and in social networks, which I enjoyed browsing after the matches. Really thanks!
How do you feel the day after the tournament? Do you appreciate being in the Australian Open semi-finals, but also have some regrets about not playing Ashleigh Barty in the final?
– I know that tennis is a sport in which a lot of people play in the tournament and only one wins. It can be frustrating, but I’ve already learned that tennis is just like that. I really appreciate reaching the semi-finals. I know how difficult it was for me to reach this semi-final. I won some really tough rounds. I know how much I worked for this semi-final, how much heart I put into these matches. Therefore, the feeling that prevails in me is pride. I perceive everything that has happened in Melbourne in the last two weeks a bit differently than the success at Roland Garros in 2020. Now I am more aware of how much work must be put into success. Now it was definitely not a story like a fairy tale, and then it was like that in Paris. Here my game was not perfect, here I had to come back in matches 0-1 in sets, I had to deal with the fact that I was losing. The fact that I came back and won was of great value to me.
You certainly did not feel the pressure you are putting on yourself and that we are putting on you when you won Roland. I imagine that back then in Paris, for example, the fourth round was something great for you, that you got a lot of wings in the first quarter-final or semi-final, and now there are expectations.
– I agree. With my expectations, I try to keep them as few as possible. I’m working on them. My focus is just to feel at your best in the tour. Last year I got used to this big world, I proved to myself that I feel good about it. It gave me more confidence. And now, in the run-up, I realized that it would be fun to have even more fun and have an even better balance between work and traveling from tournament to tournament. I want to use it all better. And the expectations of concrete results, of course, are still with me. But I have the impression that now they do not build pressure anymore, like last year, they only motivate me, make me work better. I think it is because I have this balance between training and playing and enjoying being in tournaments. Of course, these are the conclusions after only two tournaments and we will see what it is like when I play more tournaments. But I still feel like it works well.
Are you taking the pressure so much better now that at the Australian Open you didn’t have a sleepless night before any game? I am asking, referring to how much the quarter-final Roland Garros 2021 with Maria Sakkari cost you, after which you said at the press conference that you had so much emotion in you that you just didn’t get enough sleep.
– It is never easy, especially as I change the rhythm of the day during the tournament and play once during the day and once in the evening session. But I drew conclusions from that Roland and from various other situations in 2021. I have a bit more experience, I can organize my time before matches so that I do not think about them all the time and that I do not get so stressed that it is difficult for me to sleep. It is better. It was really fun in Melbourne because we ate great here and there was also a very nice atmosphere between us, the players. But I must admit that the night before the game with Kasatkina was difficult. I was afraid of the match against her because I remembered losing to her last year. I am grateful to Daria Abramowicz, because she helped me find a fighting attitude and focus. We did a lot of good work.
About your work with a psychologist, about tears, emotions – in one of your correspondence for the BBC you wrote that during the Australian Open you cried even watching “Terminal” with Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Don’t worry, you are not alone, this film touched me too.
– Phew, it’s nice that I wasn’t the only one crying!
What else were you watching between the games? Daria told me that a year ago you watched a series of films about Marvel heroes and later you turned on the superhero mode, thanks to which you won the tournament in Adelaide. What drove you to the Australian Open semi-finals now?
– We watched together, with the whole team, including Spiderman. And I was watching Jason Bourne.
Well, we know where this bravery comes from!
– Yes, I finally caught up with the classics! And now I’m gonna start reading Lindsey Vonn’s biography because I hear she’s great.
What about Rafa Nadal? Are you going to the Australian Open final with his participation? Do you have tickets?
“Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll be in Melbourne again then.” I’d love to! If it fails, I will definitely watch the finale and will shake my fingers crossed for Rafa to win the 21st Grand Slam title in his career. I am already very happy that he won the semi-final and will play for the title. He inspires me a lot. And he wrote this to me after my semi-final, and that’s one of the things that kept me from feeling angry after losing a game! This news really gave me wings.
In that case, respecting the secret of the correspondence, I am asking you to reveal what Nadal wrote to you.
– I will not reveal all the details, but Rafa emphasized that I played a great tournament, that I have a great start to the season and that I should focus on the next steps, because I am going in the right direction and it looks very nice.
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.
