Iga Swiatek admitted that she “wanted” to drop the first set of her match and put pressure on herself to complete a stunning comeback against Elena Rybakina. The reigning champion suffered a disastrous start to her French Open fourth-round match and narrowly avoided being bagelled on her favourite court.
She won just one of the opening nine games before finding her feet, beating the 12th seed to record her 25th victory in a row at Roland Garros. Rybakina had earlier raced into a 5-0 lead and wrapped up the first set 6-1 inside 35 minutes.
The Russian star then broke her opponent early in the second, winning the first eight points, but the match soon turned in Swiatek’s favour. The Queen of Clay recovered to take the second set 6-3 and then traded breaks of serve to eventually seal a 7-5 deciding set with a thumping forehand.
The Parisian crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier had not been used to seeing the 24-year-old struggle in such a manner early on, even against a former Wimbledon champion, but Swiatek admitted that she wanted to endure that type of match.
“I think I needed that kind of win to like feel these feelings that I’m able to win under pressure, and even if it’s not going the right way, you know, still turn the match around to win it,” she confessed.
“For sure it’s a great confirmation for me. I for sure wanted to have a match like that. Obviously it’s great to also have full control over the match, but against great players, it’s not always going to be possible. I’m happy that I fought, and I also problem-solved on court.”
Swiatek, who will face Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals, is so often a frontrunner on clay. That may not be the case in the later stages of the competition, however, and the four-time champion was keen to be prepared for when she is under the cosh.
“It’s a great confirmation for me that I can handle the pressure and everything,” she added. “But honestly, I wasn’t expecting to have an easy score against Elena. I also had an easy score against her, but losing, you know, because she’s a great player.”
Victory against Rybakina was Swiatek’s 25th consecutive win at the French Open, tying Monica Seles for the second-most wins in a row of all time.
Chris Evert holds the record with 29 and when asked if Swiatek puts any importance on such records, she laughed and replied: “I had no idea about it, so…”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk