CHINA OPEN

October 3, 2023

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/V. Gracheva

6-4, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Fairly straightforward victory until the rain came. How were you able to deal with the conditions today and how were you able to propel yourself to victory?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I really like playing here on this court. For sure the conditions were really nice for me. I got used to the surface already.

I'm just happy that I could play such a solid game and play another match tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Could I just get a few more thoughts from you on what you thought you did particularly well during your performance today, especially in the second set where you really pulled away and won it?

IGA SWIATEK: Overall I feel like I played a more solid game than in Tokyo, for example. I'm making less mistakes, so there are longer rallies. But I'm happy to play them. I'm kind of taking confidence from that that.

I think I was serving pretty well. But overall it's hard to, like, point one thing. I felt like I'm putting pressure on Varvara. She was fighting and running to everything. I didn't want to rush, I just wanted to be patient and really consistent with my tactics. I'm happy that I did that.

Q. What do you think of the stadium that you played in, the Lotus Court? For the next round do you want to stay in the Lotus or switch to the Diamond?

IGA SWIATEK: Honestly, I really like this court. All the stadiums here are beautiful. It's hard to compare them to anything different because they are really great. The design, I love it. I don't really mind that I'm playing on Lotus. I like playing on different stadiums. Hopefully I'm going to be able to play on Diamond Court.

For now, I don't really mind. I won two matches on Lotus, so it seems like this court is really lucky for me. I don't need it to change. I like it there.

Yeah, it's the same as on French Open. People actually ask me why did I play on Suzanne Lenglen year. I like playing on different courts. If I feel comfortable, for me doesn't matter where I play.

Q. In this year you started a 'Read with Iga' challenge on social media. Why did you initiate this plan and how much does reading help you in your life?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I wanted to convince people to read a little bit more, just show them nice books that are kind of easy to read, or sometimes I took something from these books and I want to share that.

Yeah, I just felt like people are kind of forgetting to read because there are so many things right now we can do. Obviously a lot of kids are spending time on social media or YouTube all the time or just on the Internet. I just want to show them another perspective and a different way to spend time. I hope they like it.

I know reading is not easy and not, like, natural for everybody. But you can have fun and it can take you to different worlds. You can really use your imagination. If you choose nice books - that's why what I kind of want to do, show nice books - it can really be fun.

It's kind of to convince young people to read a little bit more. For me, it has always been important. Honestly, I feel like my life is more balanced when I read. It's a great way for me to spend free time, yeah.

I always like to kind of go to a different world with my mind. It's like a journey for me, so I like it.