'Confident' Iga Swiatek feels 'much more comfortable' at Wimbledon than last year after Lin Zhu win
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Published 03/07/2023 at 16:30 GMT
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek made a strong start to her Wimbledon 2023 campaign as she beat Zhu Lin in straight sets. Swiatek has never made it past the fourth round at the Grand Slam but said after the win over Zhu that she felt "confident" and "amazing. She also revealed how working on her "baseline game" and footwork has helped her ahead of Wimbledon.
Saudi Arabia-ATP deal must preserve tennis' 'integrity and tradition' - Djokovic
Iga Swiatek says she feels “much more comfortable” at Wimbledon than she did last year, when "everybody was talking" about her 34-match winning streak.
Swiatek came into Wimbledon a year ago having not lost since mid-February, but was beaten in the third round in straight sets by Alize Cornet.
This time around she enters the Grand Slam off the back of another French Open win, but also a first grass quarter-final in Bad Homburg.
The world No. 1 looked impressive as she started her Wimbledon campaign with a straight-sets victory over Zhu Lin on Court One.
“The thing is that last year I just felt like I still have this streak going,” she explained afterwards.
“After Roland-Garros, kind of everybody was talking about that. It was a lot kind of on my shoulders when I got into the tournament. Obviously I tried to kind of just work through it, not really focus on that, what I usually do. Really I'm not looking at numbers or stats.
“But, yeah, it wasn't easy, especially having just played one tournament on grass last year. I think that's why was a little bit more tricky because I felt, like, rusty, kind of mentally in terms of the focus tennis-wise because I didn't play any matches on grass.
“I think this year is much more comfortable for me. For sure winning a Grand Slam this year, it feels like I kind of reached my goal. I was really kind of happy and I could celebrate after. But last year, I just felt more expectations.
“I think that's the difference.”
Swiatek, who is a four-time Grand Slam champion, raced into a 5-0 lead against Zhu.
Although Zhu offered more resistance in the second set, Swiatek managed to quickly close out the win following a brief rain delay.
“I feel really kind of confident,” she said in her on-court interview.
“I felt I did a really good job of adjusting to grass. I wanted to see how today was going to go and when I came on court it felt amazing.
“After Roland-Garros I took some time to appreciate what happened and last year when I won Roland-Garros it was my second Grand Slam so it still felt overwhelming. This time I could just focus on celebrating and getting back to work with more peace in my head.
“I tried to be open minded for the grass season and I think it’s working. Hopefully I will be able to keep that mindset.”
Swiatek next faces Martina Trevisan or Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Asked how her preparations differed from last year, Swiatek added: “This year I feel like we did more in terms of just like my baseline game, but also footwork I think because I just had more time to try all these things that I practised on matches in Bad Homburg.
“It's hard to point one thing because we're usually working on everything in tennis, you know? But I just feel like it's easier for it to click this time because I'm not that rusty. I played some matches. I felt like I can do it. Gave me a lot of confidence.”
- - -
Stream daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm UK time, as well as the two singles finals live on July 15 and 16, on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
/images.sports.gracenote.com/images/lib/basic/geo/country/flag/large/2214.png)
/images.sports.gracenote.com/images/lib/basic/geo/country/flag/large/2770.png)