(Reuters) – Iga Swiatek stated she seems like a distinct participant from a yr in the past and can go into her Italian Open title defence having cemented herself on the high of the ladies’s recreation following a blistering begin to the season.
The 20-year-old, who went from being an unknown teenager to buying movie star standing after capturing a maiden Grand Slam title on the 2020 French Open, triumphed in Rome final yr by hammering Karolina Pliskova 6-0 6-0 in the ultimate.
Replacing Ash Barty on the high of the world rankings following the Australian’s shock retirement in March, Swiatek has adjusted effectively to the strain of getting a goal on her again.
She skipped this yr’s Madrid Open due to a shoulder damage and arrives on the venue of her first WTA 1000 crown wanting so as to add to titles in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami and Stuttgart and lengthen her 23-match successful run.
“I really feel like I’m a distinct participant proper now. Last yr … I nonetheless was looking for some form of consistency in the wins I had and in addition affirmation that Roland Garros wasn’t identical to a (one-off) event,” Swiatek advised reporters.
“I really feel like I discovered that and I can transfer ahead and give attention to my subsequent targets. For certain, the tournaments I performed this yr have proven me that I can play higher tennis on exhausting courts.
“Right now the transition that I’ve to do to clay, it is totally different as a result of often it was like, ‘whoa, clay, lastly I can play effectively’. Right now… I really feel like my stage was excessive anyway. It did not, like, strike me this yr.”
Swiatek stated the break after Stuttgart helped her keep recent.
“I had 5 – 6 days off with out the racquet, which was good,” stated Swiatek, who faces both Shelby Rogers or Alison Riske. “It’s fairly good to have alternative to do one thing like that in between tournaments, in the center of the season.
“I really feel I’m extra recent … mentally and bodily I had time to relaxation.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
