Iga Swiatek talked about being inspired by Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn after she cruised through her opening round at the US Open.
The world number one demolished Rebecca Peterson 6-0 6-1 to begin her US Open title defence.
Swiatek was clinical as she sent a statement to the rest of the field as she searches for a fifth Grand Slam title in New York.
Speaking after the match Swiatek told the media about the performance and her experiences of playing first round matches at Grand Slams, “Well, for sure I’m really happy. I feel like, you know, I could play proactively from the beginning and just didn’t stop,” Swiatek said in her press conference.
“I’m just happy that this was such a nice first round, because first rounds are usually tricky. Also, I’m happy that I kind of had time to implement all of the stuff that I practiced on.
“Sometimes you just feel a little bit more pressure because you’re, like, not into rhythm yet and you just kind of have to — like you can get distracted more easily, I feel. I remember when I played my first matches in US Open, I always felt like there is so much going on around, and it was a little bit tougher to focus.
“But this year I didn’t feel it, because I practiced couple of times on the center court. Even, you know, with all the kids around, because I think the entry was free and so many people came to watch our practices. It was amazing and I got used to the noise and everything.”
Swiatek definitely found no difficulty in her opening round match in New York as she looks to keep her high level of confidence.
The Pole also spoke about two of her childhood heroes in the Skiing world which are Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn.
Although Swiatek’s skiing memories are ones to forget, the Pole definitely feels inspired by two sporting icons like Shiffrin and Vonn, “No, last time I skied was when I was seven and I had accident that I could have died so I really got scared. I don’t get scared that easily but this for sure stopped me,” Swiatek explained.
“Yeah, that was the last time. I’m sad about it, because now when I’m a pro, I don’t really have time to do sports like that. I wish I could, you know. They are huge inspirations for me. I don’t know. I just feel like our sports are kind of connected, because these are the only two sports where I feel individual with, like, womens kind of having, I don’t know, the same events and the same, you know, rhythm as guys.
“We kind of have similar experiences, especially I feel that when I hear all the interviews of Mikaela, I feel like we are kind of the same sometimes. So, yeah, it’s just nice to have somebody you can look up to, and that shares the same experiences that you can learn from. I’m happy that they are also so open to talk about everything. Yeah, that’s pretty cool.”
Having two inspirations like Swiatek does has made her a better player as she looks to continue to dominate tennis in future years.
However Swiatek is now focused on sliding past her next obstacle which is Daria Saville but the Pole admitted ahead of her second round meeting that she doesn’t know too much about the Australian, “Well, honestly, I have to analyze her game, because I think we may have played once before her injuries or surgery that she has. I’m not sure what’s her story, you know,” Swiatek explained.
“But she’s a great person. We always, when we pass each other, we say hi and she’s really positive. So about the game, I can’t really say a lot. I will for sure get prepared, but, you know, it really doesn’t matter for me.
“I have my kind of image of tennis that I want to play and show, and I’m just going to try and focus on myself, you know. Every match is, you know, really important. Doesn’t matter for me who’s gonna be on the other side or what court it’s gonna be. I just want to play my best game that’s possible any day. Yeah, I’ll get ready, for sure.”
