Iga Swiatek could be the ‘Queen of Clay’ however she’s been unable to take her kind on the grime and replicate it on grass and at Wimbledon. What does she must do?
Swiatek strengthened her status on clay by capturing a 3rd straight French Open crown with a crushing 6-2 6-1 victory over Jasmine Paolini to say her fifth Grand Slam title on Saturday.
‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal might have performed his final French Open this 12 months however Swiatek comprehensively proved as soon as once more she can be Roland Garros royalty.
She turned the primary lady to win three consecutive Roland Garros titles since Justine Henin in 2007 and solely the third to attain the feat in Open historical past, together with Monica Seles.
However regardless of successful the 2018 Wimbledon ladies’ singles title the Pole has but to make it previous the quarter-finals on the All England Membership, so why the struggles?
Waiting for the grass-court season and subsequent month’s Wimbledon, Swiatek stated she hoped to adapt shortly to the change of floor a 12 months on from her first quarter-final look in west London.
She stated: “I felt final 12 months that I may adapt faster. I am going to see what the plan is for this 12 months, as a result of final 12 months it was the primary time I used to be capable of play this match earlier than.
“I think to play some matches before Wimbledon is good, but on the other hand, I played basically almost every match in Stuttgart, Madrid, Rome and here, and so we need to take care of my physicality, as well.
“So we’ll see what the plans are. However I feel the most important progress I could make on grass proper now’s utilizing my serves that was higher, but in addition I do not anticipate loads.
“The balls are different. Overall tennis is different on grass. I’ll just see and I’ll work hard to play better there.
“Final 12 months’s end result was fairly good. I really feel like yearly it is simpler for me to adapt to grass.
“It’s a huge challenge. If I lost here earlier, maybe I would be able to play two more weeks on grass and then be a better grass player, but if I would choose, I love playing on clay, so I’m not going to give up that ever.”
Former British No 1 Laura Robson feels Swiatek’s pure spin on the forehand does not appear to have the identical ‘pop’ on grass.
Talking to Sky Sports activities, she stated: “The lower bounce doesn’t shoot up on the grass court like it does on clay and a hard court.
“In a manner as a result of she may have to play a bit flatter, particularly on her forehand as a result of her backhand has actually, actually improved, and she will flatten that shot out and may slice off that facet.
“I think her second serve as well… because it’s generally a kick serve but it sits up a little bit more than other players. I think it’s something that she’s probably aware of.
“And she or he’s coming off a Grand Slam win on clay so I feel it might be actually powerful to reset mentally going into the grass-court season, which is just not your greatest and you’ve got simply gained a Slam and every little thing else.
“There’s just a few areas of her game that might need adjustments to do a lot better on grass but small things make a massive difference on grass.
“The sensation I get from her is that she needs to do these one per cent enhancements in each match, not to mention for an entire season on grass.”
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Feliciano Lopez, Colin Fleming and Anne Keothavong talk about the Madrid Open closing between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka
Analyst Annabel Croft acknowledged the difficulty grass offers Swiatek, even when she sees echoes within the Pole’s manner of 22-time main winner Steffi Graf.
“Her ball doesn’t do as much damage on the grass,” stated Croft. “She finds it’s very tricky and I think with the grip she has on the forehand side, she’s quite round on the forehand and when players keep the ball low and slice it down on the grass court it’s very difficult for her to get that rolling forehand.
“She likes the ball up excessive in between hip and shoulder peak.
“When she walks on court, the pace that she sets not only when she’s hitting the ball, but the marching in between points and the kind of body language she’s putting out, she’s coming at you with everything.
“Every thing is focused and she or he’s giving off these indicators that ‘I am in management, I am setting the tone, I am setting the tempo for this match’. It’s extremely troublesome for any participant to maintain up together with her.
“She does remind me a little bit of Steffi Graf when she was at her height people used to say she was like carrying a briefcase around the court with her the way that she was marching in between points, and the way setting the tone, big forehand winners and hitting winners left, right and centre and there’s a lot about the way that she had that intensity on the court.
“It is what Swiatek brings to the match courtroom.”
Swiatek will start her preparations on the Berlin Open on June 17 – stay on Sky Sports activities Tennis.
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Highlights of Swiatek’s victory towards Sabalenka from the Rome closing
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