Faites de la place, le train Iga Swiatek est pressé en ce début d'Open d'Australie. Après avoir joué 1h23 puis 1h01 pour ses deux premiers matchs à Melbourne, la Polonaise n'a eu besoin que d'1h11 pour se débarrasser d'Emma Raducanu ce samedi (6-1, 6-0). Une 26e bulle en Grand Chelem. Avec 12 balles de breaks obtenues, sept converties et aucune concédée, la n°2 mondiale ne s'est fait peur à aucun moment, et fonce sur la jeune Allemande Eva Lys, lucky-loser, en huitièmes de finale. Qui peut la stopper ?
Photo : @AustralianOpen
Photo : @AustralianOpen
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00:00Well, for sure I felt great and I felt like the ball is listening to me, so just pretty
00:09loosened up and at the end, you know, I felt like all the tactics and everything I wanted
00:15to do I was able to, so I just kept going.
00:19Questions?
00:20How do you deal with being ruthless and do you take extra satisfaction from a six-love
00:27set?
00:28Well, I don't take it personal, kind of, so I wouldn't say I'm ruthless, I just try to
00:35have the same kind of attitude and the same kind of focus no matter what the score is.
00:40But it's not like I want to, you know, show something.
00:45I'm just playing my game and if it's working, why stopping, you know?
00:49I also have seen many matches when someone was back being down like 2-5 or something,
00:56so you always have to just keep going and it's not over until it's over, so, yeah.
01:02Charlie?
01:03I just wondered what you think are the biggest differences from how you're playing now compared
01:08to last year?
01:10I think, I think kind of everything changed because for sure last year I think it was
01:15the toughest Australian Open I ever had, like the draw was pretty unlucky for me and, but
01:23I mean, still, if you play well you're able to get through that, but I remember I was
01:29just tight, you know, and didn't move well.
01:33Also had some, you know, things that bothered me, like physically as well, so now I feel
01:39much more fresh and I feel like everything is in the right spot and working so I can
01:44just focus on the game and that's it, you know?
01:46I don't need to, like, fight through some stuff, you know, like, yeah.
01:51I feel, like, less stressed and it's helping for sure.
01:55Do you think tactically, I mean, compared to the year as a whole, 2024, do you think
01:59now you're doing some things differently as well?
02:02Tactically?
02:03Yeah.
02:04Well, I do things differently for every opponent, so there's no way you can compare, you know?
02:09Last year I played Danielle, who plays super flat, you know, Emma, for example, now she
02:15plays more spin, my previous opponent, Rebecca, also plays more spin, so you can't compare
02:20them.
02:21Howard?
02:22I found that phrase you used about the ball listening to you interesting.
02:32Could you explain a little more about what you mean by that and how often you feel that?
02:40Because it looks, from outside, like that's a frequent thing, but I'm wondering from your
02:45perspective.
02:47Well, I would say I feel that on a practice court, like, most of the time.
02:57Sometimes, you know, during the matches, I feel like it's just being able to, like, aim,
03:03like, for this kind of space or for this, you know?
03:08Like being more precise and actually knowing where the ball is going to go and seeing the
03:12effects that you want it to.
03:15On practice court, like, at home, probably, I feel it, like, all the time, but I'm used
03:20to the court.
03:21I'm like, I like the conditions and everything, you know?
03:23On the matches, it's a bit different, and sometimes you need to get through some matches
03:28where you totally don't know where the ball is going to land, for example, but yeah, honestly,
03:34every day is different, so you always have to work to get these feelings and not expect
03:41that you're going to get them because it's not so easy.
03:45I also just wanted to ask, at the end there, there's this ritual of writing on the TV camera.
03:50You looked a little like you were struggling to come up with what to say.
03:54Well, I'm not really a creative person, so yeah, at first, I had, like, no idea what
04:01to write, so I just thanked for the support, and then I actually thought a bit more, and
04:06I asked to write again, and yeah, well, I'm not so smart sometimes.
04:13What did you write the second time?
04:15I just wanted to kind of, like, dedicate this tournament for my grandpa, and just wanted
04:22to just send him some nice message because I never did that, and I feel like I had many
04:30opportunities before, but as I said, like, these things don't come up to my head naturally,
04:36so now I remember that I used the opportunity because I felt, even though these are not
04:41like final rounds of a tournament, I feel like I'm playing good, so even this tournament
04:46already has a nice story to it, and I wanted to dedicate it.
04:53What would you say is the biggest impact that WIM has had on you in, sort of, I mean, now
04:59that you're playing in a Grand Slam, and you've had a couple months to test drive some things?
05:04Um, well, I just, I don't know.
05:09I think the fact that, you know, I just feel the support, you know, and I feel like he
05:16knows that I'm, you know, doing 100%, even when sometimes the effect is not perfect.
05:21I don't mean, like, today because actually this match was kind of perfect for me, but
05:24on a practice court or something when I'm struggling, like, I feel like he gives me
05:29a lot of support and understanding, and for sure this is important, but obviously, like,
05:35tennis-wise, you know, it's hard to say because it's not like his view is totally different
05:40from the coaches that I had before.
05:43It's just about the execution, you know, so for sure, like, this year I was able for these
05:48matches that I played to execute on the tactics, and my game stayed, like, a bit better than
05:52before, but, you know, the biggest impact, I don't know, like, our work is kind of, it's
05:58about everything, so there's not, like, one specific thing, you know, it has to click
06:03in every aspect for me to play well, and for now it does, so I'm, I feel, like, I feel
06:09more relaxed, and I feel like, for sure with my game, I feel, like, a bit more confident
06:15than last year, for sure.
06:16Jermaine?
06:17Hey.
06:18Am I right in saying that you made some small changes to your forehand to make it more compact?
06:25Did I?
06:26Then, no.
06:27Well, honestly, it's not like we had a lot of time in the pre-season, like, I didn't
06:32change my movement, so, at least I'm not aware of it.
06:36People thought you did, so I was curious, but, no, then.
06:40No.
06:41Hey.
06:42Obviously, very early in the year, you've had one loss this year, though, so far, to
06:48Coco, two weeks ago, I'm just curious to know how you see your game today compared to, you
06:53know, that match two weeks ago, and do you think that if you played like you did today
06:57that result might have been different?
06:59Oh, doesn't make sense, like, to compare, you know, like, playing against Coco is different
07:06than playing against, you know, Emma or other players, like, she's literally, like, one
07:12of three best players in the world right now, I would say, so, yeah, but, I mean, on the
07:18United Cup, I felt like I'm playing good, you know, I had these nice matches with Muhova
07:23and with Wolter as well, like, I was in trouble, I was able to come back, I won against Elena
07:28for the first time on hard courts, on faster hard courts, so, it was nice, I felt like
07:33I'm playing good, you know, but for sure, like, I was super, like, I couldn't give 100
07:38percent on that match with Coco, obviously, like, she earned it and she played also really
07:42nice and pretty aggressive and everything, but, you know, at the end, like, I couldn't
07:46really move much because everything hurt me, so, for sure, I would like to play, like,
07:53again with Coco when I'm more, like, you know, fit and ready to run and everything because
07:59with Coco, like, you need to physically be ready, she's running a lot as well, so the
08:03rallies can be long, you know, but, yeah, I mean, during the whole year, I think there
08:10are many situations where, where, I don't know, both players are, like, fresh or one
08:16is fatigued, one not, like, Coco could also, like, United's gap is intense for everybody,
08:21you know, so, so, you never know what you're going to see on the other side of the net,
08:27but when you play these top players, like, you always need to be ready 100 percent, you
08:31know, to win against them, so, also, this, like, previous wins that I had with her, they
08:36didn't happen like that, you know, I always had to work, work for it, so, so I wouldn't
08:41compare, you know, totally different story, totally different tournament.
08:45Do you feel fresh in this Australian Open, like, do you feel good?
08:48Yeah, yeah, I feel much more fresh than for past two years, like, even though it's beginning
08:53of the season, last two years I felt much more, like, fatigue and, and also a bit more
09:02stress, I would say, so this also comes together, so, yeah, for sure, like, now I can just focus
09:07on improving my game rather than, like, feeling better.
09:13Hi, Iga, a few players have commented this tournament about the courts being slower and
09:17the balls being heavier compared to previous years, is this something that you've noticed
09:21and how might it affect your game if you've noticed that?
09:24I haven't noticed the courts being slower, so, for me, they're fast anyway, and the balls,
09:34I remember that last year I felt like, at the beginning, when they were new, they flew,
09:38like, you know, bullets, like, you couldn't really control them, especially, like, yeah,
09:44they just, they were just so, like, fast in the air, you know, I don't feel this this
09:49year, but still, they are really dynamic and they are bouncing off the court pretty fast,
09:53so, so I wouldn't, no, I mean, I wouldn't say there's much difference.
09:59Okay, we're going to go Simon, David, Craig, Dan.
10:03Hi, Iga, movement is obviously a big part of your game and you can hear your feet squeaking
10:08on the court, do you, is that just because of the way you move or do you have particularly
10:12squeaky shoes?
10:15It's the way I move.
10:18Yeah.
10:20Could you hear it when you're moving, do you notice?
10:24Well, honestly, when I started working with On, I realized that there are different ways
10:28to do the shoe as well, and they were able also with the Roger shoe to kind of avoid
10:33any kind of noise, but I didn't want that, also I want my, you know, grip, and the shoes
10:40that are not squeaking much, I think the sole is, like, more flat, so, like, it has no,
10:47like, spaces in between, so, so I like it, and I ask them to kind of keep it the same,
10:52you know, that I always had before, and, and they are really great brands, so they did
10:58it perfectly for me, and, but also it's the way I move, I would say.
11:03David.
11:04Thanks, I've had my questions.
11:07Iga, there's a lot of, there were a lot of suggestions about how Ruddick kind of played
11:14over here, that there was a freshness about her, and that she had really picked things
11:18up, she was looking so much better on the court, did you, did you have any note of that
11:23going into the match today, and if that was the case, if you were aware of all that, does
11:29something like that spur you on even more to, to really score, score a line today?
11:36Well, I wasn't really aware, because I'm not, you know, reading much what you guys
11:41write, sorry, maybe after the tournament, so I, I'm so focused on myself kind of that,
11:48that honestly it doesn't matter, also like, every match is different, so what you've seen
11:53like two days ago, like, also I might not play the same, you know, it's hard to keep
11:59the same kind of level for whole two weeks, or even for a week sometimes, so, so all these
12:05stories behind, like, I don't really focus on them, and I was ready for, for a big battle
12:13and for anything, you know, that I can show, and I'm always kind of on my toes and ready,
12:20and I think this is what my kind of focus is about, you know, so, so I wasn't aware,
12:25I just played my game.
12:27When did you maybe sense, sorry, when did you maybe sense that this was going to be
12:33such a one-sided scoreline during the match?
12:38I try not to think of that, you know, during the match, because it makes your head kind
12:45of lazy, you know, and as I said, like, I saw many matches where players were coming
12:50back from 2-5, so I just wanted to finish it and to close it, and I don't know, I felt
12:57like she might have lost her belief a bit, but honestly, you never know, like, what's
13:04going on on the other side of the net. I know that if I would not be so intense, if I would
13:08back out a bit, she for sure would use it, because she's an experienced player, and so
13:12I did, I just focused on myself, didn't want to, you know, change anything.
13:16OK, final question in English, Dan?
13:19Do you hear a lot of players barely leave the bubble of Melbourne Park and their hotel
13:25you famously in Paris like to get out to parks, and it's worked obviously very well there.
13:31Just wondering if you found any in Melbourne where you like to do that, and how important
13:35is this disconnect for you, given the intensity you bring to practice and match day?
13:40Yeah, I mean, for sure, I found some nice places in Melbourne, and it's important because
13:46you just have to enjoy life off the court, you know, to play good, and also to find some
13:51kind of distance, you know, to everything. If you're just focused on tennis, then suddenly
13:56it becomes like life or death kind of thing, you know, and it's not like that, it shouldn't
14:00be like that, it's just tennis, it's just a game, you know, so off the court I try to
14:04have, like, I don't know, just rest in a nicer way that I would even at home, because at
14:10home I have, like, so much stuff to do usually, so now, yeah, I just chill, and for sure I'm
14:17not staying in my hotel room too much because it's nice, I love it, but I want to see Melbourne
14:23and I want to just feel the summer and everything, because it's nice.