Iga Swiatek admitted that she is feeling a lot of ‘positive vibes’ about the US Open after her opening round win in New York.
The world number two was comfortable in her opening round win over Emiliana Arango on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
A 6-1 6-2 victory over the Colombian showed how good her form is this year as she is the player to beat in New York.
Swiatek is a former winner of this title having won it in 2022 when she defeated Ons Jabeur in the final.
However, the Pole enters this year’s tournament in much better form having won Wimbledon and Cincinnati ahead of the US Open.
So how do the tournament’s compare? Here is what Swiatek had to say about the two editions, “Yeah, I mean, in 2022 it’s not like I played amazing from the beginning. It was probably the toughest slam that I had to overcome a lot of challenges, and I managed to win it,” Swiatek said in her press conference.
“So, yeah, every year is kind of tough, because New York is just so loud, you know, and it’s hard to find that balance off the court. But I’ve got to say I’m probably good at it compared to other players, so I’m really trying to be in my bubble. The comfort level, it’s hard to describe, because the tournament is so long.
“You basically are here for three weeks. So obviously it’s not going to be the same every day. I feel, you know, pretty happy with my performance in Cincinnati and trying to get, you know, some confidence from that. Yeah, there are a lot of positive vibes in the team, so it’s all good.”
Things are looking positive for Swiatek who is aiming to close the gap between her and Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the rankings.
One day Swiatek is hoping to be a tennis hall of famer and it was at the hall of fame where Swiatek felt empowered this weekend after seeing Serena Williams give a speech to Maria Sharapova.
Swiatek reflected on how she felt seeing the two players reconnect off the court after an intense rivalry on the court, “Honestly, it’s great. It’s a shame obviously that it didn’t happen before when they were on tour together,” Swiatek acknowledged.
“I just thought that their relationship was so tense that I’m just shocked that they managed to work through it, you know. I guess if you have good intentions, you can work through everything, you know. So for sure I’m happy to see that.
“Yeah, I mean, I think having that appreciation from your biggest rival, I think it must be a great feeling. So Maria also deserves that, and Serena, she’s great. So they’re both great. I was just happy to see them kind of together, because tennis, I mean, I feel like we all should be kind of united and going towards one goal as players, even though we’re competing against each other, and that’s one of the examples of that.”
Swiatek will hope to continue to take inspiration from that when she faces Suzan Lamens in the second round of the US Open on Thursday.
