– I wanted to be the best version of myself and, despite these conditions, show my best tennis – said Iga Świątek on the night from Friday to Saturday, Polish time, after winning over Ons Jabeur 6:1, 6:2.
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The Pole advanced to the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Cancun in impressive style. She won all three matches in the group – just like another semi-finalist, Jessica Pegula. They are the only ones so far who have been able to make it to the Tournament of Champions despite such unfavorable circumstances.
Circumstances do not interfere
Rain, wind, sand on the court, holes in the surface, empty stands, anger of tennis players – this is not what the last women’s tennis competition of this season was supposed to look like. It must be admitted that against this background, Iga Świątek’s results so far become even more meaningful.
Fans can be proud of the tennis player from Raszyn. In group fights with Marketa Vondrousova, Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur, she looked like a player who knew exactly what to do. She played extremely confidently and calmly, and was able to adjust to the wind. She did not have the same problems with service as her biggest rivals Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, who record records in the number of double service faults in Cancun.
Thanks to the self-confidence built after the win in Beijing, Świątek is now confidently going through the next challenges that both her rivals and, perhaps most of all, the organizers, pose to her in the WTA Finals.
Many tennis players are very irritated by the wind and rain in Mexico. This obviously bothers our player, but she gives the impression that she doesn’t want to spend too much effort on her nerves. She prefers to focus on what depends on her. Concentration on the game, on coping in difficult conditions, and not on what’s going on around you.
On the one hand, this is probably due to the effectiveness of the advice given to her by head coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. On the other hand, Daria Abramowicz’s psychological support is also useful during the WTA Finals tournament to cool down her emotions during an event organized on such crazy papers. Subsequent victories in Cancun are even more impressive as we are talking about the second youngest participant in the entire field after Coco Gauff.
What will Sabalenka show?
Iga Świątek faces further challenges in Mexico. On Saturday, there will be a fight with Aryna Sabalenka for the tournament final, and on Sunday, a possible fight for the final victory with Jessica Pegula or Coco Gauff. On the one hand, the stakes are getting higher, only the best of the best remain in the event. On the other hand, remember that our tennis player usually increases her pace even more in the most important phases of a given tournament.
A possible victory over Sabalenka will bring Świątek closer not only to victory in Cancun, but also to returning to the number one position in the ranking. For now, however, you have to stay on the ground, because meeting the Belarusian may be more difficult than it seems.
The current number one is not playing well in Mexico, in the group stage she impressed only in the first match against Maria Sakkari, who secured the right to play in the tournament at the last minute. With Pegula and Rybakina, Sabalenka’s level of play dropped significantly and the nightmares returned in the form of many double service faults.
Nevertheless, it would be a sin to underestimate the Belarusian tennis player. She proved this year how much of a transformation she has undergone. She won the first Grand Slam tournament in her career in Melbourne, and it was no accident that she overtook Iga Świątek in the WTA ranking. She can still show a completely different face in the semi-final against the Pole in Cancun than in the last two matches.
Especially since Sabalenka certainly remembers how exactly a year ago she defeated our tennis player in the final match of the WTA Finals 2022 in Fort Worth. Then it was doomed to failure. Let’s hope that the self-confidence the Polish woman has built will allow her to have a successful revenge on the Belarusian for last year’s failure. If she maintains the calm she has shown so far in Mexico, she may advance to the final of the Tournament of Champions for the first time in her career.
2023-11-04 06:09:00
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