INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

May 16, 2021

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/Ka. Pliskova

6-0, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Congratulations. My question would be about the way you won this title. Seemed like there were two different phases of your play. You struggled in the first few rounds, saved the match points, and then were able to play brilliantly the last two days. Does it give you an extra sense of satisfaction that you were able to find yourself in this tournament and hit your stride like that?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, for sure. It's a new experience for me. Actually, it's a good way to call it like two phases of the tournament, because at the beginning it was really, really hard. You know, I actually wasn't thinking that it's gonna be enough to do -- I'm not talking about winning the tournament -- to even do a good result.

But, you know, day after day I was feeling a little bit better and I just focused on that. I had good people around me that were telling me not to really worry and that sometimes it's the best idea not to care.

I think playing yesterday two matches actually gave me more than it would usually, because I would get tired, but this time I was in a rhythm and I could feel that for, like, three hours yesterday. So it gave me a lot of confidence.

Q. Yesterday you said that you're not surprised by your success because you're ambitious. I'm thinking you had to be surprised by the way this final went.

IGA SWIATEK: That's true. You know, I don't know actually what Karolina was saying about her performance, but from the beginning I felt that she may be a little bit nervous, and I wanted to use that and actually play as many games with that vibe as I can. That's why it was pretty fast at the beginning.

But it's not easy to actually win the first set 6-0, because you always have in the back of the mind that your opponent may start playing better and they can change the tactics completely, and then you have to adjust and then you're going to start worrying.

So when I was on the breaks, I was visualizing that I'm starting that match from the beginning every time. Actually, I did that so well that I didn't even know that it was 6-0 in the first set.

So that was kind of funny, because I asked my coach what was the score after the match (smiling). Yeah, I think mentally I was really in good shape today.

Q. Congratulations for the title, for your week. You spoke about confidence. I'd like to know how important is Daria Abramowicz in your tennis and in your life, and if you could tell us some exercise or stuff that you worked with her?

IGA SWIATEK: So, you know, we have a lot of things, like mental training stuff, easy things that we are implementing into our practices, and also I'm trying to do that on matches.

You know, it's good to have that kind of person in your team. I was always, like, open to working with psychologists, because I thought it's a part of the game that I want to improve on. You know, as Strikovic once said, everybody can play great forehands and backhands and be physically well, but the champion is going to be the one that is stronger mentally.

So, yeah, I mean, when I started working with Daria, I was pretty surprised that she wants to travel and she wants to be 100% part of the team, because usually I was just working, you know, with other people like one session a week or something like that, and it wasn't that kind of work that suited me. I couldn't really, you know, work properly, because it's not easy to find a good psychologist that you're gonna have a good vibe with.

Yeah, Daria is doing a great job and she's really experienced because she was a sailor when she was younger so she knows how it is to be frustrated on court and on the arena, so I feel like I can trust her completely. I think that's the most important thing.

About these exercises, I think it's hard to choose one, but I would say just working on the easiest stuff actually and not overanalyzing everything is a key, because actually after French Open I was talking a lot about it that I was just focusing on my legs and on keeping my legs low, which is like the basic stuff in tennis, but actually it worked.

Sometimes you have to keep your mind busy and do the easiest stuff.

Q. Congratulations. Just talking through the final a little bit and the match itself, you said that you felt as though she might be a little bit nervous at the start of the match. Was that a general sense of, like, well, who wouldn't be nervous of playing in a final, or was there something that you saw in the first few points that made you think maybe she's a little bit flat today?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, I saw that, because I thought, like, her movement wasn't really good, but I also had in my mind that she's gonna, you know, just start in a minute feeling better and being in a rhythm. So I wasn't really focusing on that.

But actually, you know, it's hard to have any thoughts because I didn't really know her and I don't know how she's reacting to matches and how her body language is. I mean, I saw some matches and I was playing with her on exhibition, but it's always different.

Yeah, I mean, that was my thought, but I didn't even know if that's true or not (smiling). I just focused on myself and, yeah, it just worked.

Q. On Monday you'll finally be in the top 10. I know that that's been a frustration with the frozen rankings and everything like that, but talk about what that means to check off two pretty significant milestones. You now hold two of the three biggest clay events on the circuit, which is pretty crazy too. Can you just reflect on what has been continuing to be a remarkable 8 months, 12 months, however long it's been? I don't know, 6 months?

IGA SWIATEK: I don't know either. Yeah, it is pretty crazy and I'm really proud of myself that I'm actually starting to be more consistent, because that was my goal from the beginning. Actually, I feel right now that I am doing huge progress in that matter.

But it was actually a bit frustrating after French Open, because sometimes you can't, you know, see the result of your work. Obviously winning a Grand Slam is great, but after that comes rankings, and this year it was different.

So I'm really proud that I'm gonna have, you know, in my résumé that I'm top 10, because I always wanted that. Yeah, I also want to be consistent. So right now our goal is to, you know, keep me in that place and go further. Yeah.

Q. Since 2000 there have been four double bagels in a WTA final. You have one and Aga has one, which is kind of crazy. So what is in the Polish water that is posting these sorts of results and these finals?

IGA SWIATEK: I have no idea (smiling). But, you know, I didn't even know about that statistic, and, you know, when I was playing I didn't even know what was the score.

When my coach told me it was 6-0, 6-0, I was, like, Really? Isn't that a mistake?

Yeah, I mean, the key is just to not to think about it and just, you know, play. Because when you're gonna think about the score, you can actually like ruin your mindset and ruin your attitude.

So I don't know what Aga did, but maybe it is a Polish thing (smiling).