AUSTRALIAN OPEN

February 10, 2021

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/C. Giorgi

6-2, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Well played today against a tough opponent. Walk us through that match versus Giorgi.

IGA SWIATEK: Obviously, it wasn't easy because she's a great player and she can play great tennis when she's in the rhythm, so I tried to not let her do that.

I remember our last match from two years ago, and I remember that she was too strong for me and she played too fast, so I knew this time was going to be different because I made the big progress since Australian Open 2019. So, yeah, I just wanted to dominate on court and be confident and don't let her play her game.

Q. Can you just talk about in the second set early on when she started to get on quite a bit of a roll and you were able to win those two games holding and then talk me through that a little bit in terms of how you were able to not maybe let the flashbacks to 2019 come back, because when she gets like that she's very difficult.

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, that's true. I mean, I knew it's like totally different story, so he I wasn't even thinking about our last match.

It wasn't like on my match against Simona in French Open when I had flashbacks, because here we played on different court, different conditions, so really a lot changed since then so I wasn't thinking about that at all.

But, yeah, she started playing really, like, consistent. She was hitting really hard and close to the baseline. Sometimes I was late, especially on my forehands.

But I knew that if I'm gonna, you know, just keep the ball in and wait for her to, I don't know, make a lot of mistakes, because her game is really risky, and when you play that flat, sometimes mistakes just come. So I kind of waited. Yeah, I tried to dominate but sometimes it's hard with her. So, you know, I just played (smiling).

Q. And then just in terms of getting these two matches under your belt into the third round, how pleased with your level are you and how you're managing things so far?

IGA SWIATEK: I'm very happy. Well, especially after last week and, you know, I struggled on court a little bit, so this time is different. I feel really confident. I think I found my rhythm and my game, so I'm really happy.

Q. You play Ferro next. Can you just talk through the challenges of playing her.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, you know, you're gonna get bored asking me my next opponents because usually I don't know anything about them. I haven't played against her, and to be honest, I didn't watch like many of her matches, so I'm just gonna listen to my coach and he's gonna know all the tactical stuff. We're gonna talk about it before the match, but right now I'm not focusing on that.

Really, I wasn't even looking at the draw. Honestly, after a match, I didn't know who's my next opponent, so I can't tell you anything interesting right now.

Q. So far at the Australian Open, does this feel similar at all to what it was like two rounds in in Paris, or does this feel like completely different experience so far?

IGA SWIATEK: Completely different. I mean, I think I'm more confident right now, and yeah, it's different. Everything is different. I don't know especially what, but, you know, it's a different tournament. I'm not even comparing, so, yeah.