“I was pretty annoyed” Iga Swiatek wins a thrilling marathon match against Kaia Kanepi to advance into the semi-finals

World No. 9 and the 7th seeded Iga Swiatek battles her way past Kaia Kanepi to reach the semi-finals of the 2022 Australian Open, her first-ever semis appearance at Melbourne Park. In a marathon match that lasted 3 hours and 1 minute, Swiatek won the tie 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 on the Rod Laver Arena in front of a crowd that was entertained thoroughly.

In a match that saw Iga beat her previous record of 10 double faults, as she hit 12 in the match, it was a stern test presented to her by the 36-year old Kanepi who reached her first-ever Australian Open quarter-final this year. Swiatek finished the match with 5 aces, 31 winners, 50 unforced errors to finish with 121 points. Kanepi from the other side of the net had 5 aces, 4 double faults, 35 winners, 62 unforced errors to end with 116 points in a close encounter.

“I am really glad that I have my voice because I was shouting so much. Thank you for the support it was a crazy match and without the energy from the crowd, it would be hard to win. In the first set my mistake was I had so many break points, I felt I missed my chances because she broke me and I was pretty annoyed because I should have been more focussed.

“In the second set, I did that and these are easy things that work. She was playing so fast so I had to finish quickly. I just focused on that and she played so great, I could see when the ball was going out but it was in. It was my mistake because I didn’t run and she could play anything she is amazing,” said Iga during her on-court interview with Jelena Dokic.

“I would write an essay”: Iga Swiatek on the crowd support to her

Swiatek has always talked about the importance of her coaching team that also includes her personal psychologist who helps her with her nerves before and after the matches and makes sure the Polish sensation is in the right state of mind before she takes the court.

“I trust my intuition and they (support team) don’t say anything I just need their support. They don’t need to give tips but obviously, they can (laughs). I rely on them, after the match against Sorana they believed I was going to win despite losing the first set and I kept that in my during the tiebreaker.

“I would write an essay. Really thank you, it is really hard to describe. I know they are watching and are really involved, I can see on social media. Hopefully, when this is over we can meet. The fans here, it is just great. It gives me a lot of energy and motivation,” concluded Swiatek as Polish flags were raised by her fans in her support before proceeding to write on the camera ‘Thank you for the support! #tired’.

Also Read: ‘It was a surreal experience!’ Iga Swiatek recalls ‘dream’ practice session with Rafael Nadal

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