Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/K. Day

6-0, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Congrats, Iga. Great comeback in that second set. What do you attribute to that turnaround?

IGA SWIATEK: I think for sure I drifted off a little bit for some games, and then I became tight because of that. For sure I needed to get back to my first-set game.

I feel like I did that quite well. The end of the second set looked much different. Yeah, I played with much more, you know, spin, confidence, and that's why I could win these games in a row and get back to the match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. How were the conditions? Seemed like a couple double faults in the first game, but you straightened that out. Seemed like you slipped a couple times also.

IGA SWIATEK: Just I think once I slipped, yeah, but it didn't really matter. I think in the second set my reactions were quite slow, so that's why it happened. The conditions, they were not easy. It was sometimes windy; sometimes not.

So there were some moments where the wind kind of surprised me. But, yeah, it's Indian Wells. It has always been like that (smiling). So we just need to adjust to what's coming, and that's it.

Q. You are one of the best front-runners in all of tennis. In other words, you play really well with a lead. But now, within the last six months, you have actually come back down 1-5. You did it at the US Open against Kalinskaya. That's pretty uncommon, actually. Has there been a change in mindset, or what are you thinking when you have a turnaround like that?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, on Kalinskaya match it was much different story, because it wasn't, like, I just had to -- whatever. We're not there.

I think today I came back because I knew I had the game that I showed in first set, that I can, you know, use, and to be intense but more precise with my footwork and put pressure on my opponent.

First set showed me exactly how to play, but I just didn't do that at the beginning of the second, so I knew that I can get back to that and turn things around. I think this really helped me today to do that.

Yeah, with Kalinskaya was a totally different story.

Q. Obviously, with your success, you know these courts as well as anybody. The Hawk-Eye data in terms of the court speed has come back over the course of the first few days, and it seems to be playing on average faster this year than in years past. I wonder if that was your sense on practice courts as well as in your match?

IGA SWIATEK: Yes, it's not that slow as it was before. It's still slower than some tournaments, but it's not like surprisingly slow as it was before.

But I thought they also changed last year?

Q. They changed the surface, but weirdly the numbers last year compared to this year, it's still faster than it was last year.

IGA SWIATEK: Okay.

Q. Yeah.

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, it feels a bit faster but still kind of bouncy. Yeah.

Q. Now that you're settling into your Indian Wells routine here, what are you doing to relax this year between days? Is it LEGOs, books, cooking? What are you doing?

IGA SWIATEK: I can't cook (smiling). Besides that, kind of everything, because yeah, LEGOs, movies, and books.

But honestly, like, first week was so intense, like there was so much going on, so I'm happy that now that the tournament has started, I can have more relaxed days.

Yeah, I'm watching actually the classics from '90s. It's super nice. "Legends of the Fall" and "English Patient." Intense movies, but I love them.

I always needed to, like, get more movie, like, knowledge in my life, because I know a lot about books, TV shows, but movies, not really. I'm still learning.

Q. Following on that, why the focus on movies all of a sudden?

IGA SWIATEK: Because I felt like I have, like, lack of knowledge in that area of my life, so I needed to fill that.

Q. What's the best movie you have seen when you've tried to fill up this hole?

IGA SWIATEK: Hard to think, like they are all basically like Oscar-nominated or won Oscars. Hard to pick.

But I'm crying on every show.

Q. It was an emotional era.

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, such good movies. Wow.

Q. Change of subjects.

IGA SWIATEK: No.

Q. I can keep going on movies, not a problem. But obviously, looking ahead, you'll play Maria again. What did you learn from Doha? What difference does it make that that match is happening here and now?

IGA SWIATEK: I think in Doha it was, for me, quite obvious why I lost, and immediately when I went off the court, I knew what to improve. Like technical-wise, I didn't really prepare for some of the shots as I should. When we got back home, I really practiced hard.

Also, I played many, like, longer rallies to not lose patience in the middle of it and really be able to grind, because against Maria, you need to be ready for a physical match.

Yeah, like, I want to really use these practices for the match and change that and be better at that, so we'll see how it's going to go.

Q. You make your living playing tennis, but it's a game. When you lose, can you have fun?

IGA SWIATEK: Oh. I think it depends on the player, but when I lose, I can't have fun (smiling).

Q. It's not fun ever?

IGA SWIATEK: Maybe it was when I was first year on tour and I played against Naomi, she was No. 1 or No. 2, and I was, like, it was amazing that I lost. It was just amazing for me to be out there, you know.

But later on, when you get used to that, you don't feel these -- like, stadiums become your basic kind of place to work, you know.

So, hmm. Well, I also enjoyed a match that I lost in Ostrava against Barbora Krejcikova in 2022. It was such an amazing atmosphere. I literally, after the match, I want to cry with gratitude, because the audience was so amazing. Like half of the stadium was Polish; half of the stadium was Czech. The atmosphere, I don't think I experienced that kind of atmosphere before.

Q. So you can be disappointed but also have fun?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, these were, like, two matches throughout the last five years, so it doesn't happen often, but we are athletes. We always want to win.

Of course most of the emotions that we feel after a match would be negative, for sure. So that's normal.