"It's surreal, but I know I'm in the right place and I have been working for that my whole life" - Iga Swiatek after beating Naomi Osaka to win Miami title
Iga Swiatek said it felt "surreal" to win the Miami Open after beating Naomi Osaka in the final. The Pole crushed the former World No. 1 6-4, 6-0 to win her third consecutive WTA 1000 title. Having won the Indian Wells Open as well, she became only the fourth woman to complete the Sunshine Double.
IGA WINS THE SUNSHINE DOUBLE!! ☀️☀️
Incoming World No.1 @iga_swiatek defeats Osaka 6-4, 6-0 to follow up her Indian Wells title with victory in Miami!
#MiamiOpen https://t.co/rpAyXZ68M4
In her post-match press conference, the 20-year-old elaborated on playing against someone with the caliber and skill of Osaka.
"It's surreal, but on the other hand I know I'm in the right place and I have been working for that my whole life," Swiatek said. "Well, I don't know. It's kind of hard to describe. Well, for sure just playing against Naomi in a final was pretty exciting, and I knew that the world is going to watch, because it's nice match just to follow, you know. I wanted to give the best tennis I can so people actually can be satisfied.
"She's a great tennis player" - Iga Swiatek on Naomi Osaka
During the press conference, Swiatek also hailed Osaka as a great tennis player and said that she belongs at the highest level of the sport.
"I just feel like she can play great tennis ." Swiatek added. "She's a great tennis player. I'm pretty happy that she, you know, has -- I mean, I don't know the details, but she has done something to, you know, feel better and to compete on the highest level, because I think she belongs on the highest level. So I'm pretty happy that we could play this match, and I'm pretty sure that we are gonna have many matches still to play."
With her victory in Miami, Swiatek will be the new World No. 1 when the rankings are updated on Monday.
The Pole is next scheduled to represent her country in the qualifying round of the Billie Jean King Cup. Poland will face Romania, who will be without Simona Halep and Sorana Cirstea. Swiatek, meanwhile, will be joined by compatriots Magda Linette and Magdalena Fręch.
Iga Swiatek's first tournament of the claycourt season could be the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, which starts on April 18. The 20-year-old is on the entry list for the competition and it will be interesting to see how she fares if she competes.