THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 11, 2023

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

E. SVITOLINA/I. Swiatek

7-5, 6-7, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the press conference of Iga Swiatek.

Iga, tough one today. Give us your thoughts.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, for sure it's not easy to do that right now 'cause I lost and I'm not happy for sure. I know I gave my all. Maybe that wasn't my best performance today, but also Elina played really well. So congrats to her.

I'll work harder to be more consistent in future years and to play better.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I saw you talking to your box when they shut the roof. You came back and talked to them again. Can you give some insight into what they were telling you? It seemed to work for a little bit in the second set.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, when the roof was closing, I had a chance to talk to my coach outside the court because the break was longer and they allow the coach to come to, like, player waiting room or something.

Then I wanted also to get feedback from Maciej and Daria. Well, I don't want to tell you exactly what they told me because that's kind of what we are working on the inside.

But I wasn't sure what I should focus on because I felt like I'm making pretty much the same mistakes, even though I tried to do better on some shots. I wanted some tip, what they think I should actually focus on.

Sometimes when something is not working, it's hard to find a reason because there are maybe a few reasons. When somebody is looking from the outside, it may be a little bit easier to analyze.

Q. It seems today that your forehand especially was betraying you at the worst times. When that happens, is it just a bad day at the office because the timing is off? It's a shot that you need.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, for sure it wasn't as good as on previous matches.

Well, yeah, I didn't feel today like I could play my best game. But I gave my all in everything that I could do today, if you know what I mean.

Well, for sure, yeah, my forehand wasn't the best. I'll still work on it. But honestly, it's hard for me to, like, point one thing what failed exactly. I think Elina was just overall playing aggressively and giving it all in every shot.

I felt like she's playing differently than before, than when we played on clay a couple years back. So for sure I played some mistakes that I shouldn't do. That's why I lost. But she also put pressure on me, I think.

Q. Elina has obviously become a big crowd favorite. She's almost become the British player now that there are no British players left. Do you think the crowd kind of inspired her? Was it difficult for you that they were giving her a bigger hand?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I don't really know what you mean 'cause I think she's fully Ukrainian, especially with what's going on right now.

Q. They're treating her like they're right behind her.

IGA SWIATEK: It doesn't really measure the voices of the people in the crowd, so it was hard for me to say who are they cheering for. I thought it was more even, so...

I don't really care.

Q. You seemed to be playing a little slower in between the points here than a month ago when you were on clay. I'm curious, is that deliberate? Are you trying to think more? Is it just something I'm imagining? Is there a different approach that you have to take on this surface?

IGA SWIATEK: No, it wasn't deliberate. Maybe because it was little bit windy. I don't know honestly. I didn't know that I'm slower. Sorry.

Q. Obviously huge disappointment today. I was wondering if you detach yourself from that, given sort of the symbolism of what Elina is doing here, is there part of you that would like to see her go on and win the title?

IGA SWIATEK: I think overall, looking at her career, having Grand Slam title would be pretty amazing for her. She's coming back after becoming a mother.

I think, yeah, I'll root for her, especially because we like each other as people. I told her on the net that I hope she win this tournament.

You know how it is in tennis: it's tough to win a Grand Slam. I know that for sure she wants it really bad. So I will be rooting for her, yeah.

Q. What did Elina do that maybe didn't allow you to play your best today? You mentioned how she seemed to play differently than when you had played her in the past. Could you mention maybe what was different today?

IGA SWIATEK: I think she played with more freedom and more guts. Sometimes she really just let go of her hand and she played really, really fast.

I don't know if she played like that before because we just played once, so it's hard for me to, like, say only from that one match in Rome.

We also practiced in Australia. I didn't remember that she was changing rhythm so much in terms of playing these faster shots sometimes. But I totally get that, why she's doing that. It totally makes sense. You have to have guts if you want to win these matches.

Q. After the match Elina paid tribute to you and how much support you've been to Ukraine. She said it was not an easy match to play. Did you find that as well, that it wasn't so easy to play against someone that you're close to?

IGA SWIATEK: Not really. Since I was really, like, 13, I played against my best friends sometimes. I managed to kind of just focus on tennis and not think about that.

I'm leaving everything that is going on usually off court outside of the match. I think Elina did that, as well. So I played the same kind of tennis. I was focused the same way. I wouldn't say it had impact on me.