Grand Slam 'normal' for Swiatek as Pole downs Dart
MELBOURNE: Seventh seed Iga Swiatek made a stuttering start
to her Australian Open campaign in the Melbourne sun on Tuesday but was soon
into her Grand Slam groove to reach the second round for the fourth straight
year.
The former French Open champion had to battle back from an
early break to oust Briton Harriet Dart 6-3 6-0 on Rod Laver Arena and set up a
second-round clash with Swede Rebecca Peterson.
"You could see that the first few games were pretty
tricky for me. With the sun, I know I got broken in my second service
game," she said.
"I'm pretty happy that I was patient, I found the
rhythm throughout the match. That's pretty positive."
Swiatek split with long-time coach Piotr Sierzputowski at
the end of last year and has teamed up with Tomasz Wiktorowski for this trip.
Swiatek said Wiktorowski, who previously mentored former
world number two Agnieszka Radwanska, had quickly understood the kind of
relationship she wanted with a coach.
"Just be open-minded and maybe be sometimes patient
because I like to discuss a lot," she added.
"I'm not that kind of person who just listens and does
stuff. I always have my opinion. I like to say it ... I'm pretty happy that he
understands that."
Still only 20, Swiatek has an enviable Grand Slam record
even if you disregard her stunning 2020 triumph at Roland Garros and has
reached at least the fourth round at all but one of her last seven majors.
Swiatek arrived in Australia last year under a huge weight
of expectation after winning her first Grand Slam crown and conceded it had
initially bothered her.
"I was like, 'Hey, it's not working out. I'm thinking
about French Open. I don't know if I'm going to get through this'," she
recalled.
"(But) when the Grand Slam started and I played in the
Australian Open, I came back to normal. So it went pretty smoothly for
me."
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