Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: Iga Swiatek - With the naturalness of a number 1
Iga Swiatek has triumphed for the second time at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix - and sees himself as the one to beat on clay. She also showed that she can drive.
by Florian Goosman from Stuttgart
last edit: Apr 23, 2023, 05:08 pm
The boardroom of Porsche AG, the ball children and the rest of the officials all flinched for a moment. Master of ceremonies Heinz Günthardt had announced that Iga Swiatek would drive her Porsche straight off the ramp onto the square, but at a maximum of 1 km/h, because the descent is quite steep.
Apparently Swiatek hadn't heard that: she drove off quickly and narrowly passed the Porsche staff, then turned around, took another corner, drove back again... and for a moment you had the feeling that she was toying with the idea to do another 180 degree turn. Maybe, yes maybe there's a fan of the TV classic Knight Rider in her after all. It would be her wish.
Iga Swiatek: "We're pretty good on clay"
Because Swiatek once again convinced on a personal and athletic level this week. She seemed a bit rusty at first, had recently missed a few tournaments - but in the end she just showed why she has been the best tennis player in the world for a year. And the very best on sand.
After the short semi-final against the injured Ons Jabeur, she comforted her by saying that they would definitely see each other again in the final of the French Open. When she was asked in the press conference whether she and Jabeur would see themselves as the best clay court players on the tour at the moment, Swiatek only hesitated briefly. "Yes, I think so," she then said and laughed. Jabeur won Madrid last year and played finals in Rome and Charleston, winning there this year, she explained, also emphasizing the consistency between herself and Jabeur. "We're pretty good on sand," she said.
Sabalenka causes laughter
Sabalenka, meanwhile, has to wait a little longer for her first victory in Stuttgart. After the match point, she disappointedly threw her racket into her racket bag and crawled into her box, where she was comforted by her boyfriend. But she was soon in a good mood again: at the award ceremony she suggested to Porsche that they please award a second car at their next final. And when leaving, after the joint photos, she indicated a hit on the car roof with the trophy, which made the remaining audience laugh.
Sabalenka vs. Swiatek, it could also be an exciting duel in terms of WTA rankings in the coming weeks. The Pole has an enormous number of points to defend, having won everything she played on clay in 2022. Sabalenka is lurking behind, around 2,000 points behind, but she can catch up, especially in Madrid and Paris. A Porsche, however: she can only win it again in 2024.
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