Number 1 in the world and last year’s Australian Open semifinalist, Iga Swiatek is already in the third round in the current edition. Despite the score of 6/2 and 6/3 pointing to a quiet match, the Polish player said that it did not go well there and valued the commitment of Colombian Camila Osorio in this Wednesday’s duel.
“It was a very intense and physical game. I think it was a lot harder than the score says. Camila is a great fighter and didn’t give away many points for free, but I’m happy to have been solid and come out with the win”, she analyzed.
One of the highlights of Iga’s performance was the return, winning 62% of the points and winning six breaks in eight games played in the opponent’s service. Asked if she studied Osorio’s serve before the match, she said she prefers to just focus on her own game.
“I don’t analyze much. It’s usually my trainer who pulls up all the stats and comes to me and tells me what to do. I think if I analyzed it alone, it would distract me more, so I’m more focused on the technical part. I wasn’t thinking too much about it, but I knew that even if I don’t have a perfect return I can always win the point for a rally. I really felt solid and that’s it,” she explained.
“We had never played against each other before and I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew their style of play and what their foundation is. I really wanted to be solid and patient. I knew she would fight to the end and not give anything away for free. Even towards the end of the match, I felt like she had nothing to lose and she used that situation well, shooting surreal balls,” added Swiatek.
Swiatek’s next opponent in Melbourne will be the Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa, who surprised her in the round. Bucsa, 25 years old and number 100 in the world, saved a match-point and defeated the former top 5 Bianca Andreescu, surpassing the Canadian with partials of 2/6, 7/6 (9-7) and 6/4.
