Polish second seed Iga Świątek is confident her game is getting better with each match as she took apart Karolína Muchová 6-2, 6-0 at the BNP Paribas Open.
Świątek took just under 80 minutes to defeat Czech 13th seed Karolína Muchová, winning ten games in a row from 2–2 in the first set. In her on-court interview after the match, she shared her thoughts on the victory and why she felt she was able to have such success against her opponent.
“Yeah, for sure, I felt great. I felt like I was playing better and better. Just great,” Świątek admitted
“She’s my favorite WTA player to watch, so it’s really nice also to play against her. Basically, she might be like the only player I watch, so maybe that’s why I also feel how she plays.”
The Pole, a former two-time champion at Indian Wells, was particularly devastating on return, winning 58% of points on Muchová’s serve. She also served superbly, not facing a single break point throughout the match.
In her post-match press conference she expanded on the reasons for her success against the Czech.
“No, I always want to be proactive with my forehand, because this is what gives me points. I think I just, you know, chose the right balls to go forward or to stay back and grind a bit more and play with more shape,” Świątek explained.
“I think just the decision-making was good today so I didn’t rush, and I had, you know, just comfortable situations to do what I wanted to.
“So I think it’s a combination of that, but overall, you know, I always kind of want to do a lot with my forehand.”
Iga Świątek, who is chasing a 12th WTA 1000 title, reflected on her potential quarter-final opponents, either Elina Svitolina or Kateřina Siniaková, admitting that either player would give her little time to relax.
“I think, you know, no matter who I’m gonna play, it’s gonna be a tough match because these are players that are basing their game at being solid, like running to everything and getting every ball back. I think I’m gonna have to have a lot of discipline to just finish the point even couple of times sometimes, you know,” Świątek reflected.
But, yeah, it’s going to be tough anyway. It’s the second week of a really great tournament, so only good players play. So, yeah, I’ll watch probably a little bit, and then I’ll be ready.
