"Sometimes players were all a surprise, right now the right kind of players are here, I'm happy about that" - Iga Swiatek on 2022 US Open semifinalists
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek defeated American hopeful and eighth seed Jessica Pegula in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (4) to make it through to the semifinals of the 2022 US Open. She joins Aryna Sabalenka, Caroline Garcia, and Ons Jabeur as the last women standing in the competition.
During her post-match press conference, Swiatek revealed that all the players in the last four of the tournament deserve to be there because of their consistency this season.
"It seems like the right kind of players are here who are consistent and who are working really hard. You can see that they were improving, like Garcia. Ons is consistent as well in Grand Slams," said Iga Swiatek.
"Yeah, it feels like we all earned it. So it's different. I mean, they always earn it. You know what I mean. Sometimes it was just the semifinals were players who were all a surprise. Right now we're pretty solid. So I'm happy about that," she added.
World number #1 Iga Swiatek beats USA number #1 Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6(4) to reach the #USOpen semifinals.
- 4th career Grand Slam semifinal: Roland Garros 2020 & 2022, AusOpen 2022, USOpen 2022.
- 55-7 in 2022, 19-2 in Grand Slams. https://t.co/vsrdUyPfnl
While happy with reaching the semifinals, the top seed stated that she doubted her ability to be consistent enough to reach the last four.
"Looking logically at last tournaments, I just didn't know if this one is going to be possible for me to be consistent and to win so many matches in a row. But, yeah, I feel like I've been playing better and better every week since the start of this swing. So, yeah, it surprised me because after the losses that I had in Toronto and Cincinnati, I just wasn't expecting to play so well here. It gave me actually a lot because I could be kind of an underdog again, not maybe fully, but just not expect from myself that I'm going to win everything right now," she explained.
"I had such a different level of focus today, I didn't notice most of the stuff that was around" - Iga Swiatek on tackling crowd support for Jessica Pegula
Iga Swiatek did well to handle the raucous US crowd supporting their home hero Jessica Pegula during the match. The Pole revealed that she blocked out the noise from the fans and focused entirely on her goal of finishing the match.
"Honestly I had such a different level of focus today that actually I didn't notice most of the stuff that was around. That's a good thing. Maybe I'm not able to experience everything, but that's what we have to do on court when we're playing, just focusing on what's going on inside," said Swiatek.
"Yeah, it was for sure different. I think a little bit louder. But on the other hand I was able to handle that. That's the most important thing for me," she added.
She stated that she might notice the crowd noise when she rewatches the match later on.
"Maybe I'm going to see the difference when I'm going to be watching that match. But when I was on the court, I just focused on tennis," she said.
We're proud of you too, @iga_swiatek 🤗 https://t.co/31yALNhFi3