Thursday, March 13, 2025

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/Z. Qinwen

6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Back into the semifinals here. Just talk us through your thoughts and where you're at right now in your game.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, for sure I feel a lot of confidence. This was another match that I played how I wanted. I'm happy with the performance and happy that I adjusted to the wind at the end.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Can we talk about the wind? The only reason I'm asking is because Carlos was saying last night how much he loved playing in the wind. You play sort of similarly to him in some ways, and I'm curious, are there any advantages that you find in the wind? Are there things that you're able to do that you think other players aren't?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, depends how you're going to feel it, actually. I think every time is a bit different. If I'm gonna adjust well, then I'm gonna be able to use it to my advantage in terms of, I don't know, playing more spinny with the wind so it bounces even higher.

Yeah, it's hard to explain to somebody who's not really doing it, but there are many ways to use the wind. Sometimes, you know, you can also overdo it. So I guess having the right balance and also remembering the keys of your game instead of just, you know, playing with the wind, I think it's tricky, but yeah, in conditions like that, it's crucial for sure.

Q. Is it all about your feet?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, as well. It has to go kind of natural, seeing the ball and moving to it instead of, like, overthinking it.

Q. How much did the Olympic match come into your mind with this one today?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, obviously, like, Wim analyzed this match, and we kind of spoke about it a bit, but besides the fact that this was the only match that I lost against Qinwen and I wanted to learn from it, it didn't really cross my mind that much, because I knew that this is on hard court and I knew what I did wrong on the Olympics.

Honestly, I would say that clay didn't help me on the Olympics, because these high spinny balls that came into place, it's much easier to go forward and to play them when you know exactly how the ball is going to bounce. On clay, you can't really do that.

For sure, it was tricky then. Here I thought it's gonna be more clear, and that's what happened.

Q. When you have lost a high-profile match to an opponent, does that make you even more determined?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, for sure. For sure it does. I want to show myself and everybody that I can do it, and I already, you know, knew before the Olympics match, I know now, but yeah, it's not nice to lose to anybody, so for sure you want to have a little, I don't know, like revenge, but it's nothing personal. I think every player has that against everybody who they lose before.

Q. I think we know that Petkovic read a great deal in terms of readers, and I think maybe Kiki Bertens read a lot too, I'm not sure. But who would you say are the other really quality book readers on the tour, if you know any? And if you went to an island and had to take two or three books, what would the two or three books you take?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I'm not sure, honestly, who is reading a lot. I know that -- I think Coco maybe does, but yeah, I think she posted sometimes on Instagram something. But I'm not sure, honestly, because I don't really follow that close, you know, what players are doing.

Well, I don't know. I don't know. I mean, I talk about books, but I don't know who reads like all the time or it was just a one-time thing. It's hard for me to say.

What was the other question?

Q. Going off, stuck on an island, two or three books that you would want to take.

IGA SWIATEK: For sure "Gone With the Wind." The whole, I mean, Ken Follett's books, probably like the whole series.

Third one, oh, my God. I don't know. It's a tough question. These two for sure, but the third, I think, you know, I still haven't read enough to pick a third one yet. I need to read some classics to maybe the third one is going to come up.

Q. You have talked in the past about your re-formation of your serve and the adjustments. Do you feel like you have had some sort of breakthrough? Because it's certainly been pretty effective here. Is it feeling better every week, or is it the kind of thing where you feel a certain way and you figure something out and you make a big leap?

IGA SWIATEK: I wouldn't call it a breakthrough, because I served great in Australia, as well. I only served bad with these super-heavy balls that we had in Middle East. It's not an excuse, because Mirra has been serving like 190 there, as well.

Yeah, for sure, I feel like I'm doing progress and I have more variety and I'm using that. But I wouldn't say make a breakthrough. It's more of a process and it's working. So hopefully it's going to go that way.

Q. Does it feel smoother?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah. Yeah, it does.

Q. You mentioned Mirra. There is a chance you could play her in the next round. Also Elina. Your thoughts on those two?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, for sure it's going to be a tough match, you know, against Elina. I have played many tough matches as well. Wimbledon, it was a tough loss against her.

Mirra, yeah, on last tournament we played, so for sure there is a lot to analyze and to learn from. So yeah, I mean, honestly, I'm not overthinking it now. I need to see who is gonna win and then I'm gonna prepare.

Q. A question about footwork. I just wanted to ask you, in general, your approach to the art of footwork. It's really the bedrock of a lot of players' games. You really stand out with explosive movement and nuance movement. What's your approach and how has it evolved since you have become a pro?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, maybe I just know that it's my weapon, and I didn't know that when I was younger, but yeah, well, approach? I mean, for sure I know that everything starts with the feet right now, like, the whole movements, and sometimes even I have this mindset of just letting my legs go and I know that they're going to go where they need to, kind of.

So also, like, mixing this with, like, a lot of intuition. Yeah, for sure, this is something that we focus on on practices, and we know that even if you're doing it great, you always need to remind yourself about it.

It's one of the main keys, like, without it you're not going to be able to play well. It's super important and maybe the only thing that changes that I wasn't aware of that when I started playing tennis. But now I know.