Swiatek: "It was hard for me to find the right solution, I made a lot of mistakes"

Raquel Bermúdez Rodríguez | 5 Sep 2024 | 05.00

Iga Swiatek eliminated from the US Open 2024. Photo: Getty

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Iga Swiatek looked surprised in her quarterfinal match at the 2024 US Open against an unstoppable Jessica Pegula on hard court. The world number one from Poland speaks at a press conference about the main factors of her defeat, answers whether she plans to take a few months off, and if the Olympics have affected her performance in the United States in any way.

First thoughts on her defeat

"It wasn't a good performance on my part. 'Jessie' capitalized on it, she played better, I played worse, she won. I realized something wasn't right when I was losing 4-0 in the first set, I tried to do the same job as always. I really didn't understand why my serve wasn't working. It was hard to find the right solution," confesses Iga at the press conference. "It's never easy to play against Jess. Her shot is tricky because it stays quite low and she hits quite flat. I wouldn’t say she changed much, as it's impossible to change her playing style, but she was definitely more solid than me and made far fewer errors. So, that's why she was putting pressure on me. Usually, I can make her step back or pressure her, but today I made too many mistakes."

Is taking a few months off possible?

"No (laughs). Honestly, it's very challenging to return to the circuit after being away for months. I don't want to take a break. The schedule is tough. It could be a little easier, but I'm fulfilling it with the mandatory tournaments. I'm ready to play until November, unless I get injured."

Have you felt the fatigue from the Olympics?

"It's hard for me to compare because every year I face different challenges. For example, last year I felt a lot of anxiety and pressure for being the world number one and the feeling that I could lose it. This year I didn’t feel it as much. I feel more mature in terms of not really thinking about the ranking and points. In this tournament, it's hard to compare because there are so many factors, apart from the Olympics, that it's hard to judge. A little less time to play on hard court, perhaps it matters. But, honestly, I don't have enough experience to know."

Why did you have lower expectations than usual for yourself?

"I always try to have lower expectations because I know any of us can win this tournament, and it won't be easy. Also, I feel that when I have high expectations, I never perform well, so I try to lower them. It's not that they are low and that's it, because it's hard to have low expectations when everyone expects something from you. I remember how it was last year and I'm not always going to expect to win. I'm more focused on the work. I don't expect results from myself, I rather expect that I'll work and face some problems and work on them, and that's it."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Swiatek: "Me costó encontrar la solución adecuada, cometí muchos errores"