WATCH: Fangirl Iga Swiatek admits to losing focus seeing Martina Navratilova in stands at the 2022 WTA Finals
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Martina Navratilova and Iga Swiatek
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek becomes the first player to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2022 WTA Finals. The Pole got the better of Caroline Garcia in her second round-robin match, defeating the French ace 6-3, 6-2. With Coco Gauff losing to Daria Kasatkina and crashing out of the event, Swiatek heads to the semis as the table topper.
With the 2022 WTA Finals being played in Fort Worth, Texas, former World No. 1 Martina Navratilova made her way to the year-end championships. Navratilova with her 8 titles remains the most successful singles player in the tournament and her presence intimidated Swiatek as per her own admission.
Navratilova was the one to hand Swiatek her maiden US Open trophy when the Pole came out on top in New York a couple of months ago. With the legend in the stands and later taking an interview as well along with the PrimeVideo team, Swiatek had a cheeky reply when Navratilova asked if her biggest problem was tying her own shoelaces.
Answering Navratilova‘s question, Swiatek said, “The biggest problem I had was keeping focus when you’re sitting here.” Navratilova was flattered by the 3-time major winner’s answer and went on to give Swiatek a small pat on her shoulder.
Iga Swiatek reveals having practice sessions with male players to adjust to pacey shots
With a dead rubber at her disposal in the final round-robin match, Swiatek has come a long way from her last year’s debut at the tournament. Her only win last year came in a dead rubber match against Paula Badosa as the Pole had lost both of her first two matches.
However, with the performances this year that have seen her hardly suffer any defeats, Swiatek explained how she came up with her match plan against Garcia. The Frenchwoman became the only player to defeat Swiatek on clay this year when she stunned the World No. 1 in front of her home fans at the 2022 Poland Open on her way to clinching the title.
“I knew she is putting a lot of pressure on her opponents so I didn’t want to crack and I was kinda surprised when we played in Warsaw on how she changes the rhythm when she is just you no staying inside the court and hitting as fast as possible.
“But this time I was ready for that and also you no I’m practicing with men so I’m kinda used to this fast ball and I know what to do I just had to implement that on matches,” said Swiatek on her game plan against Garcia.
The Pole also discussed her coach’s strategy for keeping the player fresh. Swiatek revealed that regular breaks for her by the coach help her stay mentally and physically fit for all sorts of conditions and matches. With the WTA Finals concluding on 8th November, she also said a small vacation is already scheduled for her to cool off.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)