INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

May 16, 2024

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/C Gauff

6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Iga, another final here in Rome. Your thoughts on being back in the final?

IGA SWIATEK: For sure I'm excited and happy already with the tournament. I really enjoyed playing today, as well. I'm just proud of myself.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How would you rate the way Coco played and how effective her game plan was today compared to Cincinnati when she beat you? Was it better today?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, it's hard to compare. In Cincinnati we have one of the fastest hard courts on tour. Really hard to compare.

But I know that I did some stuff wrong in Cincinnati, and I didn't want to repeat those mistakes. For sure, like, tactic-wise I was just focusing on myself. I didn't really try to see if she's going to play the same way or not.

Usually players change their tactics when we go to different surface. I was ready for anything. I was ready to just stick to my plan and be consequent with that.

Q. Coco said the way she played, she probably would have beaten anybody except you. That's a nice compliment. What do you think of that?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, for sure these are nice words. Hard for me to say. She's the one who's playing this kind of tennis and feeling what she can do with her racquet.

Well, it's a compliment from her, for sure, so...

Q. When you paint the lines as you did in the last game, when you hit the lines, are there small moments where you almost feel unbeatable?

IGA SWIATEK: No. If I would feel that way, I wouldn't play so well because I always try to remind myself that I shouldn't expect anything, take anything for granted. Usually when I feel like this one is going to be a winner, I'm going to win this game, it doesn't happen, so...

I have to think a little bit differently to be more efficient.

Q. At the beginning you said you enjoyed playing today. What made this match more enjoyable than maybe another win?

IGA SWIATEK: I enjoyed all of my matches here. I just didn't say that before.

I don't know. It's nice to play a semifinal against a top player, kind of feel like you can play your game and enjoy that.

Even though it wasn't easy, I felt like I can play my kind of tennis. Because of that, it was really nice.

Q. In Madrid you said the significance of that win would depend on what would happen over the next few weeks. Over the course of these two weeks so far, how often does that match come back to your mind? If you look back on it now, how much has it helped you in Rome?

IGA SWIATEK: Honestly, I didn't have much time to analyze it and to think about it. It's like you win a tournament and you go straightaway to another place. It's hard to sometimes really think about the past when you constantly have to focus on the future.

I think this match gave me confidence that I can win even though I'm not feeling the best way or I'm stressed at the beginning. I can still get the score back.

Maybe I'm less worried before matches because I know even if I'm going to be in trouble, I'll be able to recover from it maybe if I'm going to work hard. This is the kind of feeling that I have.

Overall, as I said, it's not like I had so much time to analyze it. Yeah, I'll still get some lessons from it, but you need some time to digest, as well, and I feel like I didn't have that.

Q. Looking ahead, you play Aryna again or you play somebody who you're obviously familiar with how good she is in Danielle. If it is Danielle, she's won 19 of the last 20 matches. What is it that makes her such a dangerous opponent when you play her?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, first of all, I haven't watched her matches on clay, and we never played on clay. I don't know honestly how she plays. I would need to prepare tactically.

Overall I think she's pretty unpredictable, sometimes her decisions. When she's feeling great, she has a great game. What can I say? Really she won against top players already sometimes in her career.

Yeah, she's just dangerous. That doesn't change the fact I can still play my game. On clay I feel like I always have Plan B. No matter who's going to win this semifinal, I think it's going to be exciting anyway, and a challenge, for sure.

Q. If you play Aryna, obviously the challenge of playing somebody that you just played not just two weeks ago. It seemed like when you were coming out of the Madrid match, you implied that you weren't playing your best at all moments. How much will the change in conditions, redoing it all over again, in this stadium alter things?

IGA SWIATEK: Honestly, I don't think it makes sense to think about these two matches as one continuing story because totally different tournament. Well, different week, as well. It's not like it's going to be the same.

I'll try to, like, be in the present, not really think about Madrid. Obviously I need to analyze this match in terms of the tactics. Not too much, as well, because it was pretty tight. I think we both could have done some things better.

It's a totally different story. I'll just focus on being present.