INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

May 13, 2022

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/B. Andreescu

7-6, 6-0

IGA SWIATEK: Sorry for being late (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Another strong performance for you today. How did you feel out on court?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, pretty confident honestly. I feel like every match I'm playing better and better. Even though the first set was pretty tight, I had some ups and downs, I feel like I could play well in important moments and break back anytime.

I'm pretty happy that also the second set was more solid because it shows that I'm just, I don't know, learning my lessons throughout the whole match, I'm playing better and better.

So that's good.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What was it like to face Bianca? Great first set from a spectator perspective.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, basically I wasn't really expecting anything because I didn't actually know how she's playing after the break. I watched many of her matches before she did that break. Right now I didn't know if her tennis is the same or it changed a little bit.

But I knew that physically I can, you know, kind of play longer rallies and also play longer matches I think. So basically I was ready for that. Also I knew that she's going to change rhythm. She did that, which was pretty tricky. Just knowing that, yeah, I was just ready for it. Tactically I knew it about it, so I'm pretty happy that we prepared well.

Q. You said before the match that you were just looking to get more comfortable on the clay. That's kind of your goal here. After that match, how are you feeling? Where are you feeling more comfortable?

IGA SWIATEK: It's hard to say because, as I said, it's like during the matches I have a lot of ups and downs which didn't happen before, so it's hard to say.

For sure, like, the second set showed me that if I'm going to be focused properly from A to Z, I can play great tennis, I really don't have to play risky to get advantage during the point, which is great, which is what I need on clay.

I think I need to kind of, yeah, I mean, maybe not have so many ups and downs in first sets. I think the confidence is going to go up straightaway if I'm going to keep doing better at that.

Q. The only players this century who have had longer winning streaks are Venus, Serena and Justine Henin. Do you have any memory of those streaks when you were a kid watching them on TV or if you've gone back to look at them as an adult?

IGA SWIATEK: Not really, honestly, because when I was younger I didn't watch a lot of tennis. Basically I played so much that when I saw tennis on TV, I was like, Okay, that's enough. I didn't really watch these matches where they had streaks.

But for sure being in that kind of group is like a dream come true for me. I wouldn't think of that when I was younger. Yeah, I'm pretty happy that I could do that because consistency was the thing I really wanted to work on last year. This year I feel like it clicked, so I'm pretty happy.

Q. This time last year, two years ago, you were really keen on being an underdog all the time; you seemed to prefer that role. You struggled when your ranking came up and you were the favorite. Over the last 20-something matches, how are you feeling? How have you handled that? How different are you approaching the matches as a favorite?

IGA SWIATEK: For sure I needed time to learn how to do that properly, how to use the streak or ranking to put pressure on my opponents. I feel like I've done that pretty well last season and this season at the beginning, just learning how to use it in a positive way.

Last year when I had better ranking, it felt like it's something that's pressuring me down. This time it's totally different. I'm pretty happy that my team, that Daria, for sure, we worked hard to change my mindset toward that. I'm pretty proud of our work.

Also having, like, Tomasz, who is so experienced, who has been working with top players already, it's also really helpful. I feel like I can lean on them in that matter.

Yeah, I just wasn't analyzing that much as I did in previous seasons, so it also helped.

Q. You said that you're confident in the important moments during matches. When a big moment in a match comes up, what is your mindset? Is it a big moment, it's fine, or what is going through your mind?

IGA SWIATEK: I think just my level of concentration is going a little bit up, but I'm trying not to think about the score, just what worked during the whole game maybe, why I'm in that position right now to have a break point or something.

I feel like, yeah, my mind has, like, a better clarity this season than the previous one. I can actually think what I've done good and use that in those moments.

Q. On playing Sabalenka, you've obviously played her twice this year with good results, but what is the biggest challenge you found playing her on clay versus hard court?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, again, it's hard to say because the Stuttgart clay was so much different. We could actually play with the same kind of tactics like on hard court.

Here I feel like it's the slowest surface on tour. For sure I need to adjust. Honestly, we only have like three or four tournaments on clay, and only two of them are like on 'normal clay', because in Madrid there's altitude, which is pretty crazy.

When I think about my opponents, I don't really have a vision of how they play on clay because I didn't watch their matches. That's the only, like, problem that I have towards that comparing to hard court.

I know that my coach is going to do a great job tactically. I can't tell you right now what's the difference. I guess we'll see tomorrow.