ROLAND GARROS

October 2, 2020

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/E. Bouchard

6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Another good day. You must love the French Open.

IGA SWIATEK: That's true. I love it. I loved it since I first came here. Yeah, basically is my favorite Grand Slam.

Q. Why is that? You like playing on clay?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, the first thing is that I love playing on clay. I was raised on clay. I feel, like, really comfortable here.

I always thought that French Open was a big opportunity for me. Also it was my first junior Grand Slam, so I was struck by the - I don't know - whole site. I could see other players, like stars walking by, which was amazing for me when I was a junior.

Every French Open gave me something, I could develop my tennis. Also I can say that every year I'm, like, growing up. I can see the difference. I just really love the tournament.

Q. You will play against Simona Halep next round. She beat you last year 6-1, 6-0 if I remember correctly. It was a very bad game. What do you think you can change from that game and what happened in that game?

IGA SWIATEK: The biggest reason that this match lasted, like, 40 minutes was that I was super stressed. I wasn't experienced. Right now I feel more experienced. I know that it's going to be different.

Tennis-wise I wasn't able to play all the things that we were talking with my team, like about tactics. I wasn't able to do that. I think this year is going to be different because I'm more experienced. I'm not going to be that stressed.

Yeah, last year, this match was like the first match I played on a big stadium, against a player like that. I was sad that I lost, but I kind of knew it's my first time on Philippe Chatrier, so it's not that bad. I made it to the fourth round. It was amazing for me anyway.

Q. You said you think clay is your best surface. You obviously did very well at Wimbledon in the juniors as well. Do you think you can play well on all surfaces?

IGA SWIATEK: Yes, for sure. I mean, I always say that clay is my favorite. I know that my game on hard court, it's also pretty good. Like most of the season is on hard court, so I'm getting used to this surface more and more every year. When I was young, I only played on clay court.

I think I can play on, like, every Grand Slam. But actually grass is the most tricky for me because even though I won junior Grand Slam in 2018 on Wimbledon, I still can feel the difference, like, when the weather is hot and cold, the grass is different. I still have to learn how to play on grass properly.

Q. What do you think about Simona Halep's game? Do you think it's better than last year or maybe the same or worse?

IGA SWIATEK: I don't know. It's hard to compare when you see everything from the TV. I think she's playing great game on clay because she started season on clay. She played Prague and Rome. She won both of the tournaments. I think she's pretty confident right now.

It's hard to say if her game is better for me because I'm not, like, expert. But I know for sure that my game is better, so hopefully this match is going to be longer than 40 minutes (smiling).

Q. Do you know what was the reason for the retirement of your opponent in the doubles?

IGA SWIATEK: I'm not sure actually. Sorry. I don't know.

Q. Where were you during the lockdown, the pandemic?

IGA SWIATEK: I was at home. I have to finish high school, so I had graduation and everything, final exams. I had to study. I was in Warsaw. Yeah, that's all.

Q. Were you able to study at home?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah. I mean, I wasn't practicing for the first two months of lockdown, so I studied all day, all night. I graduated high school, and I started doing pre-season. My pre-season wasn't very long, it was normal.

Q. Were your exam results good?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, it was very good. I mean, I studied for like two months, so it has to be good. It went very well.

Q. What subjects?

IGA SWIATEK: So I did all the obligatory ones, advanced math and English. Pretty hard. I made it (smiling).

Q. Last year you were listening to a lot of AC/DC on your way to the round of 16. What are you listening to this year?

IGA SWIATEK: Right now Welcome to the Jungle, Guns N' Roses. That's right-before-my-match-tune, so yeah.

Q. How important would the Olympics be to you next year, bearing in mind your family background?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, it's always been very important for me. I'm pretty happy that the Olympics were postponed because, as I said, I had graduation this year. Being on tour, playing Olympics, it would be for me too much probably. It would be pretty hard to handle all of this stuff, keep my tennis on a good level.

I'm pretty happy that it's postponed. I hope we're going to be able to compete as we would in normal Olympics, not during COVID, right? I'm looking forward to that. It's going to be amazing for me, especially because my dad was in Seoul. Yeah, he always said the Olympics is the most important part of sport in any discipline. In tennis maybe not, but for me it's really important.