Today, Swiatek will play already her 13th match of this clay season.
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek shut down any claims of physical concerns following her latest Rome Open win as the 22-year-old Pole says she is feeling well physically and ready to play again on Tuesday.
On Monday, two-time Rome champion Swiatek saw off former world No. 1 Angelique Kerber 7-5 6-3 to progress into the quarterfinal at Foro Italico, where she will play next against world No. 16 Madison Keys. For Swiatek, the match against Kerber was already her 12th match of her clay season, which she started on April 18th.
But after finishing as a semifinalist in Stuttgart and winning the Madrid Open, Swiatek is feeling well and looking to also win Rome and clinch back-to-back WTA 1000 titles.
“No, physically I feel good. I had couple of days off after Madrid. It was enough for me to reset, physically as well. I don’t see any problems now. I guess we’ll see after tomorrow ’cause two matches in a row,” Swiatek said.
Swiatek on facing Keys
Today, Swiatek and 29-year-old Keys will be taking on each other for the fifth time in their respective careers and for the second time in the last 12 das. Heading into the match, Swiatek owns a 3-1 head-to-head versus 2017 US Open runner-up Keys.
On May 2nd, Swiatek crushed Keys 6-1 6-3 in the Madrid semifinal. Although Swiatek again enters the match as the big favorite, she insists she won’t be taking Keys for granted.
“Well, I don’t know. I don’t see, like, any bigger changes than usual. I just want to stay in my rhythm, stay in my zone, be focused. Maybe the only challenge is that we’re on tour for quite a long time and it’s a little bit harder to stay in your bubble. But I’m good at it. Again, I’ll try harder and it’s going to be fine,” Swiatek said.
“For sure playing against Maddie is not easy. The score was pretty one way in Madrid. It’s kind of easy for your mind to just drift off sometimes. The most important thing is to stay focused and really disciplined. That’s what I’m going to do for next days.”
