'Could be the start of something big' - Iga Swiatek backed to build on Jule Niemeier win by Mats Wilander
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Published 06/09/2022 at 00:48 GMT
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek showed her fighting spirit as she came from a set and a break down to beat Jule Niemeier and reach the US Open quarter-finals. ALex Corretja and Mats Wilander agree that the performance should give Swiatek a lift, with Wilander saying "it could be the start of something big". Swiatek next faces eighth Jessica Pegula for a place in the last four.
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Alex Corretja believes Iga Swiatek is in a “great position” to contend for the US Open title after a confidence-boosting win over Jule Niemeier.
The world No. 1 was down a set and a break against the unseeded German but rallied to win 2-6 6-4 6-0.
Swiatek has not been in the best form on hard courts this summer, winning just two matches ahead of the US Open and expressing frustration with the balls being used by the women, which are different to the ones used by the men.
However, she finished very positively against Niemeier as she recorded her 19th bagel of the season.
“I think she is getting confidence back from these matches,” said Eurosport expert Corretja.
“She came here with some doubts as the hard court summer hadn’t been great for her and the important thing for her is she found a way, and the way she finished might give her so much confidence for the rest of the tournament. The way she finished might remind her of the clay season, might remind her she’s No. 1 and is super good. I think Iga is in a great position now.”
Swiatek saw her record-breaking 37-match winning streak ended in the third round at Wimbledon.
Both of her Grand Slam victories have come on clay at the French Open, but Corretja has backed Swiatek to have success in New York and at the Australian Open.
“People were maybe thinking she was going to go back to hard courts and win everything like on clay, but that was not the case. On hard courts there are many players that can hurt her game but now she can also play well here and she knows that.
“I think she will win the Australian Open and US Open at some point in her career for sure.”
Next up for Swiatek is a tricky test against eighth seed Jessica Pegula, who looked impressive in beating Petra Kvitova in straight sets in the fourth round.
Eurosport expert Mats Wilander thinks Swiatek can use her win over Niemeier as a springboard.
“She fought really hard and moved extremely well. She lost the first set because Niemer is a great tennis player who has power on both sides but I was very impressed with Iga in the second set that she stayed focused and motivated and in the third set she played unbelievably well.
“This could be the start of something big for Iga. It must be a bit frustrating when you have had such a great season and then you are not playing as well but she is so young, it’s a process to get better and improve and have these days. It only lasted for an hour and then she turned it around.”
Swiatek told Wilander that she is “lowering expectations” this summer and is treating the tournament as a “different journey” to her dream first half of the season.
Reflecting on the comments, Wilander said: "I really liked what she said about lowering expectations.
“She is trying to get the most out of herself. She’s put the brakes on a bit, go back to improving, making the best effort I can, and that shows a lot of maturity to me.”
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