ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL

February 26, 2021

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/J. Teichmann

6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Can you just talk through the match from your side. What do you think you did well and what was the key to getting that win?

IGA SWIATEK: First of all, I kind of adjust well to playing against a lefty because that's the most tricky thing when you play against a player like Jil. I think she's using lot of spin on her serve, so it was pretty tough at the beginning. But then I was in a really good rhythm. When I broke her, I felt solid on my serve. I kind of felt in control from the beginning of the first set.

Then second set was pretty tough because I needed, like, two 10-minute games or something like that to break. I was feeling pretty, like, tired of being constantly focused. But it was worth it.

I think also that time when Jil was talking to the chair umpire kind of helped me to rest and reset and also get some time before my serve. Sometimes it's tricky because when your opponent is arguing, usually you can get just not focused. But this time it helped me. I'm really happy that I worked that through.

Q. You mentioned how it can be exhausting or tiring to be that mentally focused all the time. What are you doing to stay focused that makes you exhausted? When are those pockets in the match where you can let your mind wander and relax a little bit to catch a breath?

IGA SWIATEK: Usually when I'm not trying to break someone. When you receive you can kind of, like, let it go. When you already broke, you can just lose the game when you're receiving and be solid on your serve. This time I had to be constantly focused because I just couldn't break her at the beginning of second set.

Basically I'm focusing on everything, like every second of my being on court has a purpose. I'm just, you know, staying low on my legs all the time. It's not, like, exhausting because finally after few breaks I did that, I broke her. Sometimes you have to stay whole match in that attitude. That's most exhausting.

Here I felt like I finally did it, and it was easier at the end of the second set.

Q. I heard you say on court when you beat Danielle that you made only your second WTA semifinal. I guess it's the same now by reaching the final, your second WTA Final. Even though you have won a Grand Slam at Roland Garros, how important is it for you or to you to be achieving success at the WTA level like here in Adelaide?

IGA SWIATEK: It was my goal from the beginning of the season. I want to be, like, more consistent player, just play good week by week. I know it's impossible sometimes. You're just going to get tired at some point.

But I felt pretty good from the beginning of the tournament. It's really important for me. Just I feel that it's going to be easier year by year because I'm going to be, like, more grown up, I'm going to be able to physically and mentally handle tournaments every week.

Yeah, it was my goal, so I'm pretty happy everything worked here. Hopefully other WTA tournaments I'm going to be able to do that also.

Q. Your movement on the hard court, it's been exciting to watch you, the way that you screech for balls, you recover. Your movement is dynamic on hard court. It looks very natural. You have said clay is your favorite surface. What are the differences between the movement in playing on hard court versus clay? Even though clays is your favorite, you seem to be quite comfortable on hard courts. Where did that come from?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, I mean, clay is my favorite, but it doesn't mean that I'm playing worse on hard court. Actually my coach is saying constantly that I'm not playing worse on hard courts.

From my perspective, it's hard to say because I just feel perfectly on clay court, yeah, moving kind of the same way because I'm also sliding. You have to be more dynamic. You can't just, you know, back out and play longer rallies because the balls are coming faster. At some point you're just going to be late. You have to be more aggressive and just attack more.

But, you know, I'm not changing a lot in terms of moving. I'm trying to be more closer to the baseline basically and more aggressive. Still I'm using a lot of topspin and I'm sliding, so I wouldn't say there's, like, a huge difference.

Q. Looking ahead to the final, I'm not going to ask you to preview against each opponent because I know you'll brush me off, but can you just talk about how different it will be, based off of your experience of playing finals, how different is playing that match? What is going to be the key for you to get the result that you want?

IGA SWIATEK: If it's going to be different, then I'm going to kind of say I've kind of done something wrong. The key is to keep your routines. The most important thing is to have the same attitude because I know I've been doing a great job. Keeping that is going to ensure me that it's just another match. I'm not going to be stressed. I'm not going to have, like, higher expectations.

Hopefully it's going to be the same and I'm going to have the same attitude. We're going to do the same recovery. Yeah, I don't see why it would be different. I'm just going to be focusing on work.