Iga Swiatek exclusive: World No. 1 reluctant to entertain 'bagel talk' - 'Leave that to Twitter or the media'

Updated 30/05/2023 at 21:52 GMT

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek says she is reluctant to engage in talk over her remarkable bagel record, preferring to "leave it to Twitter and the media". Since January 2022, Swiatek has now won 33 sets to love, adding one to that tally in her first-round win over Cristina Bucsa at the French Open. Swiatek eschewed discussing the whys and wherefores of this trend, out of respect for her opponents.

'Leave that to Twitter or the media' - Swiatek bats away 'bagel talk'

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek says she is reluctant to engage in talk over her remarkable bagel record, preferring to "leave it to Twitter and the media".

Swiatek has bagelled opponents a remarkable 33 times since the start of 2022, and recorded her latest in her French Open first-round victory over Cristina Bucsa on Tuesday.

It had initially looked like being a tricky afternoon for the Pole in Paris, as Bucsa stood break point up at 4-4 in the first set.

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However Swiatek roared back and demolished her opponent thereafter, setting up a second round tie with American Claire Liu.

In an exclusive conversation with Eurosport, the Pole said: "I don't really think about that [finishing sets 6-0].

"It's more I feel the media is doing all that fuss about these results.

"It's not easy to play these sets anyway, so I'm just trying to keep my focus on what the score is.

"With all my due respect to my opponents, I don't feel like I should really talk about that kind of stuff, so I'll leave it to Twitter or the media."

Swiatek turns 22 on Wednesday, a milestone she has become accustomed to celebrating while competing at Roland-Garros.

Asked what she had planned, she replied: "Nothing special I guess, as I'm at the beginning of the tournament.

"Small things I would say, I hope I'm going to get some nice gifts and enjoy them.

"I don't think we'll do something crazy, social-wise I'm already charged up to the maximum level, so I think I'm going to be calm and just chill out tomorrow [Wednesday]."

'Hope I'm going to get some nice gifts!' - Swiatek has no 'crazy' plans for birthday celebrations

Swiatek walked onto Philippe Chatrier on Tuesday following Daniil Medvedev's shock five-set loss to Thiago Seyboth Wild, but she denied that upset had any bearing on her thinking as she prepared for her match against world No. 66 Bucsa.

Nor was she carrying any memories from previous years.

'Focused' Swiatek not affected by Medvedev upset ahead of Bucsa French Open clash

"Before my match I was mainly focussed on what I want to do on court, tactics-wise," she said.

"I didn't really come back to how I felt all these previous years, because I feel like a lot of time has passed since those tournaments, and this is a totally different story, a totally different journey."