Taylor Swift concert saw Iga Swiatek take brief eye off Wimbledon preparations
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Published 29/06/2024 at 19:20 GMT
Iga Swiatek is on the hunt for a first Wimbledon title, but her love for Taylor Swift has given the world No. 1 sleepless nights in the run up to the competition. The Pole even wanted to go back a second time, before her team advised against it. Having skipped the German Open to arrive early in SW19, the French Open champion is hoping her extra practice on grass will give her the edge.
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Iga Swiatek is hoping she can recover from the excitement of seeing Taylor Swift live to take her first Wimbledon title.
The world No. 1 joked her preparations for the world’s oldest tennis tournament, which begins on Monday, have been hampered by attending the pop star's concert in Liverpool.
And if it was not for her team’s intervention, the Pole would have gone back for an encore, even though the afterglow interrupted her sleep schedule in the days that followed.
Asked whether she had time to enjoy London’s vast cultural offerings in the lead up to Wimbledon, the 23-year-old said she had found time in her packed schedule to head north.
“I was in Liverpool to see Taylor,” said Swiatek. “It was amazing. I actually was thinking about going here for the second time. My team was like, ‘Okay...’
“Basically, after this concert, three days after, I was so excited I couldn't sleep and everything. We decided it's better to focus on the tournament.
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“But it was a great experience. Two years ago, I went to see Adele after my match in Hyde Park.
“I think if I'm going to lose early, then I'll have more time to go there,” joked the French Open champion.
The five-time Grand Slam champion reached a career-best Wimbledon quarter-final in 2023 before being defeated by wild card Elina Svitolina.
That result epitomises the unpredictability of Wimbledon in recent years, with a different winner crowned in each of the last seven editions of the women's singles.
And clay-specialist Swiatek believes the rarity of grass-court competition makes Wimbledon ideal for underdogs to triumph.
Swiatek said: “I feel like it's a really tricky tournament. It's not like you can build up your shape and then, I don't know, peak at Wimbledon.
“There aren't so many tournaments on grass. Players that are also sometimes underdogs can win it, I feel. The chance is bigger.
“I guess it comes down more to the mental side, I would say, how you're going to be able to adjust to this surface. The player that does it better is going to win.”
And on adapting to the All England Club’s surface, Swiatek is hoping that her early arrival will give her the edge over her competitors.
“I'm happy that I came here early because there is a huge difference between the grass that we have in our own country, for example, and here,” said Swiatek, who did not participate in the German Open this month.
“Here it's even more important to serve well the first serve. Besides [adjusting my] serve, basically movement and stopping before getting a shot.
“I can't really slide here. I've been working on that.
“It's overall just getting the feeling of the surface and making the small adjustments that is going to I think be enough, but we'll see.”
Swiatek will kick off her Wimbledon challenge against Sofia Kenin.
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