Latest news

‘My Body Feels Great’ – Iga Swiatek Extends Winning Streak In Miami

The Pole is the first player to reach the semi-finals in both Indian Wells and Miami within the same year since Karolina Pliskova in 2017.

Published

2 years ago

31/03/2022

Adam Addicott

Image via https://twitter.com/WTA_insider

Soon to be world No.1 Iga Swiatek has insisted that her body is holding up well after registering her 15th consecutive win on the Tour at the Miami Open.

The latest victory of the 20-year-old saw her beat two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-3, in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. Making it the fourth match in a row she has won in straight sets at the tournament. In her latest clash, the Pole won 76% of her first service points and didn’t face a single break point throughout the 77-minute clash.

Swiastek’s latest victory continues her unbeaten run on the Tour which started last month in the Middle East. For the first time in her career she won back-to-back titles after triumphing at the Doha Open, followed by Indian Wells. Now she is on the verge of achieving a hat-trick in Miami where she is bidding to join only a handful of players to ever achieve the sunshine double (winning Indian Wells and Miami within the same season).

The question is how much of an impact is this surge of success having on the tennis player? Swiatek didn’t train at all on Tuesday in order to rest but says she is in good hands with her team.

“For sure I think the fatigue hit me on the day when I played against Coco (Gauff) because I had really not so much time to actually recover,” she said.
“I think my team basically is managing my recovery pretty well because they know what’s best for me.’
“I didn’t even have to come to court yesterday (Tuesday), so that was a new kind of situation because usually we do, even for like 40 minutes on court. But this time it was different because they knew that I needed that.’
“I’m pretty happy that they are making the good decisions because I feel like I can trust them. Also my body feels great. I want to see where my limit is and also how it’s going to cope. I always felt pretty confident with my body.” She added.

It isn’t just the physical side that needs to be nurtured, it is Swiatek’s mental game too. In the past she has spoken extensively about how sports Psychologist Daria Abramowicz has played a significant role in her development on the Tour.

“My mental game is on point because I feel like I’m using this streak and it’s not like something that is pushing me down,” she explains. “I get tired and I have to work through that but it’s just being mentally tired. It’s not something that I haven’t had in my life. So I feel like I can even use the experience I had from last year.”

In Miami Swiatek has already achieved some rare milestones for a female player. She is the first player to drop less than 10 games en route to the quarter-finals since Kim Clijster did so back in 2010. As a result of her win over Kvitova, she has become just the fourth player to reach the semi-finals of four WTA 1000 events before their 21st birthday after Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka and Jelena Ostapenko.

Swiatek will play America’s Jessica Pegula in the next round who has played just two full matches in Miami after her past two opponents withdrew due to injury or illness. The world No.21 is undoubtedly the fresher out of the two but her upcoming opponent doesn’t believe this will be a major factor in their clash.

“I had so much time on court the last couple of weeks that I think it doesn’t really matter how much I played,” Swiatek states.
“I think it’s going to be a great match anyways. As tennis players, we’re kind of used to every situation, having many hours on court but also having less sometimes. So we’ll see.”

Latest news

World Tennis League: Swiatek And Medvedev Among Top Names To Play Exhibition Event

Published

54 mins ago

01/12/2023

Adam Addicott

image via ATP Twitter

During the off-season, some of the world’s best players will head to the United Arab Emirates next month to play in a four-day team event.

The World Tennis League (WTL) will host its second edition between December 21-24 at the Yas Island’s Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The event features a total of 16 players split into four groups with each of those teams competing for the trophy. Every group will have their own coach and even an owner.

Earlier this week, organizers confirmed the last players to be added to the line-up. Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz and Taylor Fritz will all play in the event which will feature a combination of singles and mixed doubles matches. Those who have already confirmed their entry include Iga Swiatek, Daniil Medvedev, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

As for who is in what group, the SG Mavericks Kites features Sabalanka, Tsitsipas, Paula Badosa and Grigor Dimitrov. The owners of that team are SG Sports, the sporting arm of APL Apollo Tubes. An Indian-based structural steel tube brand. Their coach will be former Australian Open doubles champion Robert Lindstedt.

Team Eagles will be made up of Medvedev, Rublev, Sofia Kenin and Mirra Andreeva. Their owners are the Punit Balan Group. Balan is an Indian film producer and owner of several sporting teams. They will be coached by John-Laffnie De Jager who has previously worked with the likes of Kevin Anderson, Daniella Hantuchova and Ajla Tomljanovic.

The Honor FX Falcons is named after owners Honor FX features. Rybakina, Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Leylah Fernandez are in that group which will be led by Chris Groh. Groh has previously coached Fritz during his teenage years.

Finally, The Hawkes team has Swiatek, Hurkacz, Ruud and Caroline Garcia. The team are the only one yet to have an official owner. Sweden’s Simon Aspelin will be their coach.

“We’re thrilled to be announcing more star names to our exceptional tennis line-up for season two of the World Tennis League,” Rajesh Banga, chairman of the World Tennis League, said.
“These players are of the highest calibre and prominent names around the world so we’re pleased they will be competing in the unique tournament at our new home in Etihad Arena.”

The schedule of the event will be the following:-

DAY ONE: Hawks Vs Honor FX Falcons, Team Eagles Vs SG Mavericks Kites

DAY TWO: Honor FX Falcons Vs SG Mavericks Kites, Team Eagles Vs Team Hawks

Day Three: Team Eagles Vs Honor FX Falcons, SG Maverick Kites Vs Team Hawks

Day Four: knockout rounds

Latest news

Luca Van Assche rallies from two sets to one down to beat Alex Michelsen

Published

13 hours ago

30/11/2023

sampaolo

Luca Van Assche came back from two sets to one down to defeat Alex Michelsen 4-3 (7-0) 3-4 (4-7) 3-4 (4-7) 4-1 4-3 (8-6) in 2 hours and 36 minutes at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah in the second longest match in the history of this tournament.

Van Assche and Michelsen went on serve in the first three sets. Both players saved all five break points they faced in the first three sets.

There were three consecutive breaks in the fourth set. Van Assche earned two of them and served out the set at love in the fifth game.

Both players traded breaks in the fifth and sixth games of the fifth set. Van Assche earned a chance to serve for the match, but Michelsen pulled back on serve to force a tie-break.

Van Assche built a 3-0 in the tie-break with an early mini-break. Michelsen saved two match points to draw level to 6-6. Van Assche sealed the win with another mini-break on the second match point.

“He was playing very well the whole match. It was really close. Not a lot of breaks and it was difficult for me but I am very happy”, said Van Assche.

Latest news

Arthur Fils beats Dominic Stricker to end Green Group unbeaten

Published

16 hours ago

30/11/2023

sampaolo

Arthur Fils battled past Dominic Stricker 4-2 3-4 (3-7) 4-2 4-3 (7-5) after 1 hour and 47 minutes in the final round-robin match to end the Green Group unbeaten with a 3-0 record at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

Stricker knew that he would advance to the semifinals if he won just one set. The Swiss player won the set he needed against the already qualified Fils to secure his spot in the semifinal despite the defeat.

Stricker saved a break point on the deciding point in the third game of the fourth set. Fils earned the break in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead and served out on his second set point.

Stricker held serve at love in the first game of the fourth set. The Swiss player broke serve on the deciding point to open up a 2-0 lead. Fils broke straight back in the third game and held serve at 15 to draw level to 2-2. Fils earned three mini-breaks, but Stricker pulled back on serve each time. Fils sealed the tie-break 7-5 on his second match point.

Stricker beat Fils 7-6 7-6 in Gstaad in their only previous head-to-head match last summer.

Fils saved two break points in the first game to hold serve. Stricker fended off a break point in the fourth game on the deciding point to draw level to 2-2. Fils earned his first break on his third set point with a forehand return winner in the sixth game to clinch the first set 4-2.

Stricker saved the only break point of the second set in the fourth game. Both players held on their serve en route to the tie-break. Stricker won six consecutive points from 0-1 down with two mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-3.

Fils won his first title in Lyon and reached the final in Antwerp

“I knew before the match that I qualified, but I just want to win every match that I am playing. I think I put a little bit more focus out there out there today than the first two days because I know this opponent and he already beat me this year. It was a tough match but I am really happy to win and let’s see who I get in the semifinal”, said Fils in the post- match interview.