"Felt like I was playing against a wall" - Iga Swiatek after losing in 2r at Olympics 2021
Iga Swiatek's hopes of winning an Olympic medal in singles came crashing down on Monday as she suffered a straight-sets loss to Spain's Paula Badosa. The Pole, who is a Youth Olympic champion (in the doubles discipline), couldn't find her best tennis in the face of relentless pressure from a red-hot Badosa.
Swiatek led 3-1 at the start of the match but failed to sustain her level, losing five games in a row to surrender the first set. In the second set too the 20-year-old was up a break, but she squandered the lead again to ultimately go down 3-6, 6-7(4).
In her post-match conference, Swiatek claimed that Badosa's aggression and consistency didn't allow her to play her game.
"[Badosa] put a lot of pressure on me, she was attacking all the time," Swiatek said. "Sometimes I felt like (I was playing) against a wall, I was a lot defensive. It was a very demanding game."
The Pole added that she was let down by her serve on Monday. According to Swiatek, the serve is one of the first elements of her game that breaks down under pressure.
"I have the impression that the service is the first thing that disappoints me when I am under pressure," the 20-year-old said. "I think the service was not completely bad, but comparing to [Badosa's execution], which was great today, you can see the difference."
"It seems to me that 90 percent of players cry after losing matches" - Swiatek on her emotional reaction at the end
The second-round loss left Iga Swiatek fairly emotional, and she was even seen crying courtside. The youngster spoke about that during the press conference, admitting that it is not easy to compete at the highest level day in and day out.
She added that crying was a natural "human" reaction at the end of a tough loss.
"It seems to me that 90 percent of players cry after losing matches," Swiatek said. "This time it happened to me. We are also human. Competing at the highest level every week is not easy. Tennis is such a frustrating sport at times, but of course there is nothing to complain about."
Iga Swiatek's dream of a medal is still alive at the Tokyo Olympics, as she is slated to play in the mixed doubles event alongside Lukasz Kubot. The World No. 8 claimed she was happy with the opportunity of playing with Kubot, who is 19 years her senior, and that she would be looking start with a fresh mindset.
"I am glad that I have the opportunity to play with Lukasz," Swiatek said. "I will try to have as much fun as possible out of it. We haven't played much together this season. I hope that I will be able to mentally relax after the singles and be ready for the next match."