MUTUA MADRID OPEN

May 1, 2021

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/L. Siegemund

6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Can you share with us what you learned today from the experience of winning a match on your 11th match point.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I learned that you have to be patient (smiling).

Really it was pretty hard to close that match. Match balls are pretty stressful because you know you're almost at the end. Sometimes a crazy idea may come up. I tried to just be focused on my basic game, to play safe.

Anyway, I made, like, a lot of little mistakes. I weren't sure where did it came from. It was pretty annoying. It just shows that Laura is a great fighter. You could see that also in previous games. In second game of second set, she had amazing rallies, amazing points. She's fighting till the end and she's not giving anything for free.

I knew it's going to be hard, but it doesn't happen really often to play 11 match balls.

Q. Have you experienced something like this before?

IGA SWIATEK: No. That was the first time actually. Usually the other player is also stressed, so sometimes they're kind of like helping to win that match. Also match balls aren't usually, like, spectacular. They're usually easy balls that are missed. She didn't miss any of them. She was serving pretty well. She was serving basically on the line usually, the second serve. It was risky.

Yeah, it was tricky to win that match balls.

Q. How would you assess your performance today? Overall how would you say you are adjusting to the conditions in Madrid?

IGA SWIATEK: I think it's better and better every day. Yesterday on doubles I felt great. I kind of loosened up. Today it was more natural for me.

But I felt that when you're going to get tight, everything can change. Basically it's really important to make yourself be, yeah, loosened up, play just naturally.

In the second set when I lost, like, three games in a row, yeah, it was really hard to control the ball when you're a little bit tight. Usually I would play, I don't know, slower or something like that. But here I just made mistakes.

Yeah, probably on next match I'm going to be just focused on just keeping my hand really forward and just playing my game. I have really good topspin and I can use that, so yeah.

It's better and better, but right now I'm kind of like learning what to do in different situation on this surface and with these conditions.

Q. Your next match against Ash Barty, everyone is excited about the matchup. She talked about practicing with you in Melbourne. She said your game was impressive. What did you take from that practice?

IGA SWIATEK: I really respect her. Knowing her story, probably I don't know whole of it, but she's like really a solid player, one of the most solid on the tour. She has a great slice. I remember it was hard in Melbourne to keep your legs low, just playing back those slices. I think most of the girls have problem with that. I'm going to remember about that.

I'm going to play without any expectations because she's No. 1. She has I think the most wins this year. I don't care. I just happy that I going to play world No. 1. It's going to be just exciting.

Q. You've had pretty good success in doubles, as well, in the different pairings that you've been a part of. How do you feel that side of your game is progressing, what you build and learn being involved in doubles? What are your future doubles plan? Are you playing doubles at Roland Garros?

IGA SWIATEK: I don't know if I should say that, so I'm going to ask Bethanie because she's the boss. Like every match, on every match I think more and more comfortable, especially Bethanie because she's kind of teaching me how to play sometimes tactically.

As I said, she's the boss. I'm also comfortable in that position. In singles I know I'm alone, I'm just playing for myself. On doubles, you have to kind of like split the responsibility. It's good that she's taking the responsibility. She's like a doubles player. She's really experienced. I just love playing with her.

Yeah, she's also pretty positive. Sometimes I like to just be mad about some stuff, and she has really great energy. This is also that kind of thing I'm learning from her. It's not only for doubles. I'm going to use that in my life basically.

Yeah, I'm taking a lot from these matches.

Q. The Instagram Live you did with Mikaela, what was that experience like for you? What were your biggest takeaways from getting to talk to her in that sort of situation?

IGA SWIATEK: I feel like it was 40 minutes psychologist session for listeners because we were just talking about mental stuff (laughter).

It was just exciting to talk with a champion like that. Yeah, she seems like a really humble person, really smart athlete. She's really aware of what she's doing, how she's doing that. Yeah, it's that kind of champion mindset that I want to achieve someday.

Q. About today's match, looking forward to playing Ash, you said you were aware of her kind of backstory. What are you aware of in terms of her journey to being a junior Wimbledon champion, walking away, coming back and having the success she's had?

IGA SWIATEK: I mean, that's a hard question.

Basically I think it's a good example of dealing with expectations, just having some kind of a distance to the game. I'm also having a hard time finding it. I want to kind of win every match, I want to win right now. Sometimes I'm not giving myself time. She did that.

I don't know the details. I know it from the perspective of someone who was just reading media. Yeah, it just shows that when you're going to catch some perspective, just approach tennis differently, it's going to be easier. She's doing that. That's why she's winning tournaments. It seems too easy for her, yeah.

Is that good answer (smiling)?

Q. Recently ITF announced they joined social media boycott because of disgusting abuse messages you guys receive via social media. Do you have a personal experiences on that kind of social media?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, probably I get messages like that, but I'm not reading them because I don't usually go to the other inbox that you have on Instagram, Facebook, where you can read some of the messages you basically didn't accept earlier. Personally I'm not bothered with that.

I know that the problem exists. I think it's really good that they're showing everybody that the problem exists, that we should change that. But I think it takes more to actually make a change, a lot of learning. Also the thing my psychologist is doing, like webinars, showing people how it affects people.

It is sometimes unnecessary, the hating, the negative comments because people are not aware what we're dealing with, how hard actually it is to be on tour, how much pressure we deal with.

But, yeah, it's just the matter of if their comments are, like, constructive, if they can actually explain what they mean, or if they're just aggressive. Yeah, I think it's good to be involved in that and to educate people, that it's not that easy.

Q. You and Ash are doing well on clay. Do you consider yourself the underdog in this matchup because she's the world No. 1? If so, could that help you relax?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, I think I'm going to consider myself as underdog. It's always easier to go with that attitude on the match, hopefully. But we're going to see actually.

I love playing on clay. She had some tricky moments today on her second round. I don't know how she's going to feel. Yeah, I'm just going to try to use every opportunity that I have, not really focusing that I should win because I shouldn't (laughter). It's not going to be my goal. I just want to play a nice match and have fun playing with world No. 1.