Iga Swiatek scored the 32nd consecutive victory in the round of 16 of the Roland Garros 2022 against Qinwen Zheng. This time, however, the world number one had to suffer a little more than expected. The Chinese tennis player, in fact, managed to bring home the first set at the tie break before surrendering to the overwhelming return of the Polish player who finished 6-7 6-0 6-2.
Iga said: “I have to review the game to analyze it well, listen to the advice of my team to know what things I need to focus on, but you have to watch the game to understand. Today I was in trouble, but I was able to concentrate and find solutions, it’s fantastic.
I haven’t had the chance to do it in previous games because I’ve always been in the lead. I tried to take some advantage from the first set, so then I was able to get back in the second set and dominate again.”
About what she changed after the first set: “I tried to do something different, to find other tactics, even though I wasn’t sure what I was doing wrong. There were a lot of technical things I wanted to change, like keeping my legs low or swinging the ball a little more.
She played very fast balls, it was not easy to relax, I felt a little tense. In the second set I just wanted to focus more, so I started accelerating the forehand more. This was the solution, my mind started to get clearer.”
Iga Swiatek: “Living without Internet? Fantastic but impossible!”
The privileges of being number 1: “I like when they come and ask me what time I want to train, it’s one of the most positive things. I really like being where I am, really, I like the way they treat me, the gifts I get, maybe this treatment can put more pressure to my opponents.
I feel more pressure, that’s true too, so it’s not that good, but it’s going well.” About living without the internet she said: “I think it would be great, but it’s really impossible, I can’t give my opinion because I haven’t lived in another world.
What I can say is that during tournaments I live without internet, I try to use it only for a few minutes a day, just to watch TV shows, because I don’t need social networks. I try to avoid it as much as possible during tournaments.”
On the evening program of the Roland Garros Iga added: “I think it’s great for the fans, even if it’s harder for us, I don’t want to lie. The next day, if you went to bed at 04:00, the day can be quite difficult.
Fortunately, in the Grand Slams we usually have time to recover, we plan games intelligently. It is good to play at least once during the night session, even if it is not the most comfortable due to the change in routine.”
