"Hard to get rhythm on the volley when you play just one volley during a one-hour set" - Iga Swiatek on her missed opportunity in USO 4r
Iga Swiatek's run at the 2021 US Open came to an end on Monday as she suffered a straight-sets defeat at the hands of Belinda Bencic.
Playing in her first fourth-round match in New York, Swiatek fought valiantly but it wasn't quite enough. Speaking at the post-match press conference, the youngster conceded that she had lost to an opponent who was playing "great tennis".
"Well, for sure it was really tough, you know, but she plays great tennis right now," Swiatek said. "You know, you could see that during Olympics, you could see that right now."
Swiatek also spoke about her own game and the manner in which she handled the opening set. She rued her lost opportunities in the tie-breaker, in particular a makeable volley on set point off a terrific approach.
The 20-year-old admitted, however, that she hadn't had much practice at the net so it wasn't surprising she missed the volley. Swiatek also expressed disappointment that her level dipped after losing the very tight opening set, but claimed she was still pleased with her overall performance.
"So I'm pretty happy with my performance, because I came back in first set and, you know, it was pretty hard to use the chances that I had in first, and win the set balls, because she was playing just great," the youngster said. "I know I missed one volley, but it's not like surprising for me. I feel like it's pretty hard to get rhythm on the volley when you just play one volley during one-hour set."
"For sure it was hard, and I'm just mad a little bit that I didn't come back in second set and I drifted away a little bit," she added.
"In really important moments, she was pretty solid" - Iga Swiatek on Belinda Bencic's performance
Iga Swiatek had beaten Belinda Bencic in a straightforward encounter at the Adelaide International earlier this year. However, the youngster feels that Bencic has been playing much at a higher level since the Olympics.
According to Swiatek, she herself played a solid match in Adelaide and was able to force the Swiss into errors. The Pole added that the encounter on Monday saw a complete role-reversal, with Bencic playing "pretty solid" and her making the mistakes.
"Yeah, for sure she's more solid," Swiatek said. "In Adelaide she just made, you know, mistakes. I was really solid. I just gave back some balls so she can make a mistake. Also, I had more winners. I mean, it felt like I had more winners there because I was in control."
"But here in really important moments, she backed out and she also was pretty solid," the 20-year-old added. "Like, last two balls of the match, I was the one who missed the last ball. So that was pretty frustrating, because I know that I can play really long rallies with a lot of topspin."