WTA Rome: Iga Swiatek - "I asked my coach how it went"
Iga Swiatek won the WTA 1000 event in Rome. And in a particularly impressive way.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: May 17, 2021, 12:05 am
The women's final of the WTA 1000 event in Rome had a novelty ready in the decades-long history of the clay court classic. For the first time the big defeated had to accept the maximum penalty, for the first time at the end of the final a 6: 0 and 6: 0 was on the scoreboard.
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This feat was accomplished by 19-year-old Iga Swiatek, who had already proven with her French Open title last year that the Polish woman is capable of great things on clay. Swiatek also showed an impressive performance in the Rome final, although a very bad day for her opponent Karolina Pliskova should also be responsible for the clear outcome.
Swiatek relies on mental trick
Swiatek emphasized this after her triumph at the Foro Italico: "I don't know what Karolina said about her performance, but at the beginning of the game I thought she might be a little nervous. That was the reason why I managed to to win games quickly. It is not that easy to win the first set 6-0 because you always have in mind that your opponent can wake up and play better, " explained Swiatek after the final.
The Polish woman was always highly concentrated and relied on the mental trick of visualization in order to always maintain the tension. A trick that led to a strange situation after the match: "At every break I imagined that the game would be a draw so I wouldn't lose my level. It was a bit funny because I had my coach after the game asked what the score was, "said Swiatek.
"Just didn't make any mistakes"
Her opponent, Karolina Pliskova, only had words of praise for the young Polish woman after her bitter defeat: "She started so well. She was super aggressive and I was a bit slow at the beginning. That was tough. I think afterwards it gave her confidence because she had a run, so she just didn't make any mistakes, "said the Czech.
For Iga Swiatek, the triumph in Rome is the second biggest career success in her young career. At the age of 19, she is 15 in the world ranking. to the absolute rising stars in women's tennis. For the French Open, where Swiatek sensationally won the title last year, the Pole was at best one of the top favorites.