“I didn’t really watch Wimbledon,” Iga Swiatek ahead of her clash with Elena Rybakina at the 2023 Australian Open

Iga Swiatek makes a big revelation ahead of her fourth round clash against Elena Rybakina at the 2023 Australian Open.


“I didn’t really watch Wimbledon,” Iga Swiatek ahead of her clash with Elena Rybakina at the 2023 Australian Open

Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek is cruising at the 2023 Australian Open. The top seed is yet to drop a set so far as she makes her way into the second week. In the third round, she was up against Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa who was served a breadstick (6-0, 6-1) by the Pole.

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After dropping a bagel in the first set, she was on course for a double bagel before Bucsa held her serve for the first time. Swiatek held her serve once again and wrapped up the match in mere 55 minutes at the Margaret Court Arena. The Pole had a tough outing in the first round against Jule Niemeier who lost 4-6, 5-7 against the Pole. Since then the World No.1 is back to her dominating form as she inches closer to her fourth Major.

Swiatek will now take on Elena Rybakina in the fourth round. The Kazakh, who is the reigning Wimbledon champion, defeated last year’s runner-up Danielle Collins 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Asked about her tactics to come up against Rybakina, Swiatek was candid as always.

“Honestly, I didn’t really watch Wimbledon after I lost. I had holidays so it wasn’t smart for me to watch tennis,” said Swiatek in her press conference.

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Related: Eager Iga Swiatek just too slick at the Australian Open

Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina’s history

Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek
Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek

Although Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek have only met once on the Tour, the two know each other well. Their only Tour meeting occurred at the 2021 Ostrava Open where Swiatek won in straight-sets in the quarter-finals. The two however are familiar with each other since their Junior days. Swiatek however feels it won’t be of much use.

“But, she really is a solid player and since we played Juniors, I knew that she’s kind of going in the right direction, and with her serve she can do a lot. But tactically, I am not prepared yet. We played an exhibition in Dubai but I treated it as an exhibition and a practice little bit.

“So, it’s hard kind of to take a lot from that match. Also, we played in Ostrava like two years ago and the surface was so slow so that it’s also hard to take anything tactical from that. But I am sure my coach is going to be ready to give me some tips and we’ll see, I am not really thinking about that today,” added the top seed further.

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The match-up between Swiatek and Rybakina will be a great start to the second week. The two Grand Slam title winners have shown promising tennis and the exit of one of them will open up the draw further as the business end of the Major approaches.

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