"She didn't mind, turned out that she didn't remember it at all, hope the fans will understand too" - Iga Swiatek on her behavior during San Diego Open final against Donna Vekic
Iga Swiatek opened up about apologizing to Donna Vekic for her behavior in the San Diego Open final.
The World No. 1 defeated 77th-ranked Vekic 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 to win the San Diego Open title, earning her eighth title of the year and her 11th WTA title overall. The win was also the 64th of the season for the three-time Grand Slam winner, who has won the French Open and US Open this year.
In the match, the Pole came to the net during a rally in the second set as she tried to save a breakpoint and could be seen flailing both of her arms in the air as Vekic attempted to return the ball. The Croatian eventually won the point to grab a critical lead, which helped her win the second set 6-3. Some fans, however, weren't pleased with Swiatek's behavior.
The Pole discussed her behavior and her subsequent apology to Vekic in a recent interview with Sport.pl. She said that she went to say sorry to Vekic right after the game and that the Croatian harbored no grudges — in fact, she barely remembered the entire incident.
"Immediately after the game, I went up to Donna and said I apologized to her for that. Donna had no grudges, it turned out that she did not remember it at all. I hope the fans will understand that too. I know that there were a lot of negative comments about this on the Internet. I'm not proud of the fact that there are things on the court that I sometimes don't control. This is instinctive behavior," she said.
Swiatek earlier publicly apologized to Vekic on Twitter, writing:
"This is the best prize/trophy ever! Thank you San Diego for an amazing (cloudy) week and this unique vibe. I love it here. And congrats @DonnaVekic for your amazing run! And sorry for waving my hands at the net."
"It's a shame that against her, I was never able to show my best tennis" - Iga Swiatek on Ashleigh Barty
Iga Swiatek expressed her desire to face Ashleigh Barty once again when asked how she would feel if she had the chance to play against the Australian, who retired earlier this year after winning the Australian Open.
The 21-year-old continued by saying that it was a "shame" that she was never able to play her best tennis against Barty.
"I'd love to play with Ash again. That would be great, because as soon as I came on tour, she was the best, she was the leader and I always had a lot of respect for how she played. It's a shame that we missed each other a bit and against her I was never able to show my best tennis," Iga Swiatek said.