The semi-final in Adelaide, the semi-final of the Australian Open, a victory in Dubai, at least the semi-final in Indian Wells – the beginning of the 2022 season by Iga Świątek is brilliant. The Polish tennis player deservedly receives praise from experts.
– Iga’s form has made a great impression on me in recent weeks. Her consistency in the game and resilience have made her the most regular tennis player in the WTA competition. It’s good to see how confident she is. It shows that it is one of the world’s best – says Tony Fairbairn from the popular tennis portal UbiTennis in an interview with Sport.pl.
You can see the difference
In December, the coach of the Polish tennis player was changed. After more than five years of cooperation, Świątek parted ways with Piotr Sierzputowski. His place was taken by Tomasz Wiktorowski, a former coach of Agnieszka Radwańska. – Two things have changed after the change of coach. She is much more aggressive in her game, especially on the serve, which allows her to dominate more. Her mental resilience has also increased in order not to get nervous when she loses the first set, Faibairn points out.
The statistics confirm the change. In the previous season, Polka won only three matches in which she lost the first set: with Kaja Juvan in Melbourne, with Barbara Krejcikova in Rome and with Fiona Ferro at the US Open. This season she has already won five such matches: with Sorana Cirstea and Kaya Kanepi at the Australian Open and in Indian Wells with Angelika Kerber, Clara Tauson and Angelina Kalinina.
The perfect physical preparation of Christmas is also noteworthy. Despite playing three three-set matches against Madison Keys, she looked very fresh and easily defeated the recognized American 6: 1, 6: 0.
In Poland, the change of the coach by Świątek was perceived as a surprise. The more so because a few days before this decision, the tennis player appeared with Sierzputowski at the press conference summarizing the 2021 season. – I was not surprised by the change, because it was only a matter of time when new ideas were needed. It was also evident that Świątek was becoming more and more emotional on the court and needed some experience in her team, which Wiktorowski brings – our interlocutor points out.
The most regular
In the match for the final in California, Iga Świętek will play against Simona Halep. The Polish woman and the Romanian player have already played three times. Our tennis player won the memorable game at Roland Garros 2020 when she won the Grand Slam title. And she lost at Roland Garros 2019 and during the Australian Open 2021. – Her chances against Halep will be very good, especially if she maintains her form from recent matches. However, Iga will have to be patient. Halep will try to extend the rallies, it could be a long game, Faibairn predicts. This semi-final will take place on Friday. Broadcast on Canal Plus Sport.
There are more and more voices in the tennis community that Iga Świątek is at the moment the best tennis player in the world. – I think Iga is by far the most regular tennis player, although for me it’s Ash Barty [liderka rankingu WTA – przyp. red.] is still the best. When Barty takes off, not many girls are able to get close to her level. Swiatek is not at this level yet, but in the future she may boldly aspire to the role of the leader of the ranking – our interlocutor concludes.
Depending on the final results of the tournament in Indian Wells, Iga may move up to the second place in the WTA ranking.
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.
