Posted by Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday June 5, 2024
Paris – Iga Swiatek she proved once again during two nights in Paris that she is healthy and truly the queen of clay. But when it comes to grass, well, the five-time major champion isn’t too sure. That doesn’t mean he isn’t one of the players who could win it this year.
Swiatek currently owns a 9-4 overall record at the Championships, not bad by any means but pales in comparison to his impressive 35-2 record at Roland-Garros. Last year the Pole did well at SW19 – Swiatek reached the quarterfinals before falling to Elina Svitolina in three sets.
One big problem for Swiatek, of course, is that Wimbledon starts in just three weeks, which doesn’t give him much time to rest and recover after a long and taxing spell on clay.
“I think playing some matches before Wimbledon is good, but on the other hand, I played almost every match in Stuttgart, Madrid, Rome and here, so we need to take care of my body as well. So we will see what the plans are,” said Swiatek.
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This.was.something.different. pic.twitter.com/CyQKtGkjKW— Iga Światek (@iga_swiatek) June 8, 2024
A former Wimbledon girls’ champion, Swiatek says she felt playing the top event in Bad Homburg helped her last year, but more importantly, she thinks she will benefit from strengthening her serve this season.
“I think the biggest improvement I can make on grass right now is using my servers,” he said, “but I’m not expecting too much. Different balls. In general, tennis is different from grass. I’ll just see and I’ll work hard to play better there.”
Crowds of the Olympic Year
Swiatek also has the Olympics to think about later this summer, and the Pole won’t want to miss the chance to bring home Olympic gold. She joked that her grass court tennis might benefit from an early loss at Roland-Garros, but she clearly has no intention of doing that (just ask Naomi Osaka).
“I need to continue the work I’ve been doing,” he said, regarding his grass-fed beef. “It was easy every year, especially with my coach [Tomasz Wiktorowski] who, with Radwanska, had good results on the grass and felt the grass well.
“It’s definitely a big challenge,” he said. “If I lose here early, maybe I can play two more weeks on grass and be a better grass player, but if I had to choose, I love playing on clay, so I’m not going to give that up. forever.”
