ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL

February 25, 2021

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/D. Collins

6-2, 3-0 (ret.)

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. (No microphone.)

IGA SWIATEK: I made more unforced errors in previous matches than I was hoping for, so, yeah, I feel really strong right now and hopefully it's going to be the same next match.

Q. Do you know what's wrong with Danielle?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I have seen like as much as the fans did. So I think something with her back. But I'm not sure.

Q. You had a lot of Polish support tonight, a lot of flags. How does that help you?

IGA SWIATEK: It's great. Actually I feel like I'm in Poland. They're really supportive. Even yesterday when I was playing against an Australian I felt that they are actually louder than the local audience.

So it's really great, they're very supportive of me and enthusiastic and it's been giving me a lot of energy.

Q. Has it surprised you to see so many Polish people in Adelaide?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, it's my first time here, so I wasn't aware that there were like many Polish people actually around. But when I was playing in Melbourne, they always be there. So, yeah, I always got a lot of support in Australia.

Q. When you won the French Open you had about three and a half months before you played again which was in Melbourne. What did you do in those three months?

IGA SWIATEK: I was pretty busy because first three weeks were pretty hectic and I didn't play tennis at all because I had so many media obligations. It was the end of the season so I also had some holidays, but I didn't feel like I was actually resting during those holidays because my head was still kind of focused on everything that was going around.

And then I started pre-season, we started working as usual, I think I did like two months of preseason, so it was a little bit longer, but still normal amount of practicing.

Actually, I feel like the quarantine in Australia was the first time I could like probably chill out and not worry about everything that's been going on after French Open. So I think I needed that time and I'm really happy that I won such a tournament actually at the end of the season.

Q. You're the first person to really enjoy quarantine.

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, that's true.

Q. When Simona Halep won Wimbledon 18 months ago she said that when she arrived back in Romania there were 30,000 people to greet her at the airport. What sort of recognition have you had in Poland since winning the French Open?

IGA SWIATEK: I know it's different because we have a pandemic. So I didn't see like a lot of people around, because at that time we had like many restrictions and it was impossible for to get like big gatherings. I mean, we still have restrictions, it's different than here.

But I can see like a lot of support, like by media and TV and I feel like people really saw me for the first time and I gained popularity. So it was actually good that the pandemic is here, because it was really good for me and I could try to learn how to deal with it step by step. It's going to be probably different when the pandemic is over, but I have this experience now.

Q. We could have an all-teenage final on Saturday if you got you through your semi and Coco gets through hers. She's 16 years old, which seems remarkable to me. What do you make of someone of her age achieving so much so quickly? How difficult is it for a 16 year old to do what she's doing?

IGA SWIATEK: Everybody has different journey, so I don't know how it is for her. Everybody's like growing up in a different way, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, so I don't want to speak about it's hard for her. For sure it's a great achievement, we're going to see from her how it's going to go and then for me we'll see how it's going to go.

And then we're going to play against each other, even though she's like an upcoming superstar, I'm going to be just focusing on the game and on work. So I don't think it matters, like, at the end, you just have to focus on playing tennis because everybody is equal on court.

Q. You won the French Open obviously on clay, you played really well tonight here all week on a hard court and you won Junior Wimbledon, didn't you, as well. Do you have a favorite surface?

IGA SWIATEK: Yes, clay for sure.

Q. Always?

IGA SWIATEK: Yes.

Q. Can you just look ahead to playing Jil Teichmann in the semi.

IGA SWIATEK: I know Jil pretty well because we played against her, I think, on exhibition tournament last year, and we also practice a few times. So I think it's going to be a good match. I don't know how much her game changed since then, but as usual my coach is going to be watching her match and he's going to analyze everything.

But, yeah, I mean, I like playing with her and I know I'm going to enjoy the game. So I can't tell you my tactics or any specific things, but I feel good about the game.

Q. In general this week in Adelaide, what do you think has been the key to your level this week?

IGA SWIATEK: Oh, I would have to say, you know, as I said, as I was saying like from the first interview, I feel pretty fresh, even though I'm after Grand Slam. I don't know how other girls are handling it, because that's kind of new for me, I always felt like I'm more tired. And, yeah, I feel like I'm in a good rhythm to play, because even though I lost in fourth round, I was playing pretty good tennis and here I also play better and better every match. So I just, you know, feel good on court, that's all.

Q. I was talking to a couple of the other players who were saying that the quarantine situation in their home countries impacts a little bit their decision of when they can go home and things like that, because some places they have to quarantine for 10 days and that screws up things for them. Is there anything like that for you with respect to having to manage when you can go back to Poland and not, just because of whatever the travel restrictions are?

IGA SWIATEK: Actually, I didn't think about those factors because like from the beginning we wanted me to be on tour until the end of Dubai, so we're going to stick to that plan because actually I want to kind of learn how to be a few months on tour and how to handle all of that.

So I'm not like really keen about going home right now and I'm really happy that I'm not exhausted after a Grand Slam, because I feel I can like physically handle that until the end of Dubai. So we're going to see how that is going to go, but I don't think like the situation in Poland has any influence on our decision, actually my coach's decision, because he's responsible for the plan.

Q. The LEGO sets that you are putting together, do you travel with them, do you buy them when you get to the city, how does that work? They're quite large and intricate.

IGA SWIATEK: Oh, so the thing is that I actually did in Melbourne like two wooden models. So I traveled with them from Poland. And it's weird because when I'm at the airport I have like two big luggage, my tennis bag and two models in my hands. So it's kind of funny.

But yeah, right now we ordered LEGO and it's, that's the first time actually I'm going to LEGO and I'm really excited. But we ordered a large number and it's huge, like so many pieces, but we actually did like 70 percent of it already. So I'm pretty sad that the time is going to end soon, but it's great, it's really good fun, so everybody should try LEGO.

Q. What were the wood models?

IGA SWIATEK: It was like the, it was a box for jewelry and when it opened it kind of like -- you know, I can show you on Instagram. You can see it there. It doesn't sound really well, it just looks good.