Iga Swiatek looking to rely on her experience at Grand Slams as she set up a Roland Garros rematch with Coco Gauff.
It was a fairly quick day at the office for Swiatek as her opponent Lesia Tsurenko retired in the sixth game.
Now Swiatek faces Coco Gauff in a rematch of last year’s Roland Garros final which the Pole won to win her second Roland Garros title.
After the match Swiatek was asked about how much experience helps at this stage of Grand Slams, “Oh, a lot. But sometimes I would say it helps even more at the first part,” Swiatek said in her press conference when referring to past tournaments.
“Because, you know, I remember my first Grand Slams that I played when I was in fourth round I was already exhausted, like mentally and physically, you know, because, well, maybe because of my level as well the matches were tougher, you know. But mentally, like, every match cost me a lot.
“But right now I’m kind of able to, I don’t know, process it a little bit better. In the first part of the tournament I think it’s pretty important to also, you know, keep the power for the next rounds, even though I’m trying not to think about the next rounds, you know, and I’m giving 100% on every match.
“But, yeah, for sure, experience helps. You just feel like, I don’t know, I already played so many matches like that that there are going to be other chances, as well. But the most important thing is just to play the best tennis
possible that day.”
Swiatek will look to use her experience once again in Paris as she searches for a fourth Grand Slam title.
That experience could prove valuable against an opponent like Gauff who doesn’t have as much experience in the latter stages of matches.
Speaking ahead of the match Swiatek said that last year’s final doesn’t count much as both players know each other’s games well, “Well, for sure, you know, on one hand I know her game, you know, and I know how it feels to play against Coco,” the world number one said.
“But on the other hand, playing so many matches against each other, I think, you know, as I said during my first or second conference, what’s the difference between playing against players you’ve played seven or eight times and the new ones?
“Well, I think, you know, there is a chance we can make something tactically, you know, because we already know our game so well because it has its advantages and disadvantages in terms of the preparation before the match. But honestly, you know, yeah, that’s what I can take from previous matches.
“But last year, you know, it was a final, so I think, you know, finals have kind of different rules. Sometimes these matches are a little bit different than the other rounds that we play during the tournament because of, you know, the pressure and everything that’s going on around.
“So, you know, this is a totally different year, totally different tournament. I have to be ready, you know, regardless of what happened last year.”
Swiatek will now play Gauff after the American defeated Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 7-5 6-2 in her fourth round match.
The American spoke about the clash with Swiatek and said she will revisit the match in a positive way and look at what she needs to do to win this time around, “I mean, I guess obviously from a scouting standpoint, yeah, I have to rewatch that match because I don’t think I’ve played her on clay since, I’ve played her on other surfaces,” the American explained.
“I don’t know if the surface will matter that much. So I will rewatch some previous matches to see where I’ve gone wrong. But, yeah, I guess the revisiting part for like the mentality, yeah, I mean, it’s in the past. You know, in a positive way, not like I lost in the final, I don’t want to think about it.
“It’s more so I don’t want to make the final my biggest accomplishment, I guess. I want to keep moving forward and keep reaching further heights.”
Wednesday’s meeting will be the seventh time the two players have faced with Swiatek winning all previous six meetings.
