The only player that can stop Iga Swiatek is the Pole herself believes Mats Wilander ahead of the Australian Open
Former World No. 1 Mats Wilander opines on what could be the biggest disadvantage for Iga Swiatek in the 2023 season after the highs of the 2022 season.
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Iga Swiatek and Mats Wilander
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will reach Melbourne Park as one of the biggest favorites for the 2023 Australian Open. The Pole is coming after two Grand Slam title-winning seasons in 2022. She claimed the Majors in the 2022 French Open and the 2022 US Open.
She had also reached the semi-finals at the 2022 Australian Open. With eight titles in the 2022 season, five of them came on hard courts. Those included the US Open title and three Masters-1000 in Qatar, Indian Wells, and Miami. She finished the season with the WTA-500 title in Southern California Open.
As the first Major of the season approaches, three-time Australian Open winner Mats Wilander evaluated the Pole and made some bold predictions.
“I think Iga Swiatek’s dominance is going to depend on her. I think that 2022 was obviously a massive year for her to be able to prove to, I mean, I guess us, but to herself, that she’s the best player in the world. And I think she proved that in the US open that it doesn’t have to be on clay. ‘I can win on hard courts, which means then that I can also win on grass. So, I’m the best player in the world’.
“The only thing that can stand in between Iga Swiatek and winning two or three majors in 2023 is Iga herself. I think that you have to at some point, and I’m not saying that she is or isn’t, but at some point you have to go, ‘Okay, I’m better than everybody else. It’s time to stop worrying about if I’m playing good or if I’m playing bad. I’m better than everybody else, and I’m not losing to anyone’” said Wilander speaking on Eurosport.
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Mats Wilander stresses on how Iga Swiatek’s inexperience could cost her
Iga Swiatek turned Pro back in 2016 at the age of 15. She won the Wimbledon Juniors in 2018 and became a Tour regular in 2019. In the four seasons since then, she has won three Grand Slam tournaments and five WTA-1000 titles. She has also completed 40 consecutive weeks as World No. 1. She reached the top of the rankings officially on 4th April 2022 and has not left the spot since. However, for Mats Wilander, she is still inexperienced.
“And I think that’s the mindset that she’s not quite there yet. When I watch her play, I see sometimes a frustration that I understand, but comes because age-wise, she’s not old enough, and she hasn’t been around long enough to understand if you compare to the champions that are older, where really they don’t care how they’re playing, they’re just going to beat the person across the net.
“And that’s going to happen to Iga. If that happens in 2023, she can defend better than anybody else, which then makes her more relaxed in being more aggressive than everybody else. She moves better than everybody else, I believe, and she can play on all the different surfaces. So, I think it’s just about her not standing in her own way,” added the Swede great.
Having not signed up for any warm-up events barring the 2023 United Cup, Swiatek will be well rested for the first Major of the season. Having made the semi-finals last year, a better result will be expected from the Pole and it won’t be a surprise if she takes the silverware home from the Melbourne Park.
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Sarthak Shitole
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