Swiatek celebrates Cincinnati triumph
Cincinnati
Iga Swiatek overcame an early deficit to add the first Cincinnati Open title to her trophy cabinet on Monday evening.
After falling behind 3-0 early in the first set, the six-time Grand Slam champion rallied to defeat seventh seed Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 6-4 in 1 hour and 49 minutes.
'I'm kind of shocked and super happy, so thank you for the awesome support, to the team and to my family back home,' she said.
'I don't know why I win the tournaments that we're like the last ones in terms of what I thought they were going to be. So, thank you (to my team) for forcing me to become a better player and learn how to play on all these faster surfaces.'
Iga Swiatek lost the opening three games of the final in Cincinnati and was serving at 30-all when the match began to turn. It was a winner that might have caught a millimeter of the sideline, but it was enough. Swiatek won the next five games.
The six-time Grand Slam champion might be the best at changing the complexion of a point with a single deep-in-the-corner, re-direction of the ball. Now, it appears, she has rediscovered the ability to recover her focus in a moment.
The recent Wimbledon champion will be the No. 2 seed at next week's US Open, anchoring the bottom half of the bracket, and comes in riding more momentum than any of the other favourites.
Celebrating with her team immediately after the win, Swiatek used the word 'shock' to describe winning Wimbledon and Cincinnati, tournaments she confessed later she thought she had no chance of winning.
'Before, Cincinnati was like the fastest surface we had on tour. So now it has changed a little bit -- it's [slower]. If I would have to point to tournaments that will be the hardest ones to win, it will be Wimbledon and Cincinnati.'
Swiatek is the first Polish player in the Open era to win a singles title at the event and the victory came just a few days ahead of the US Opne, the final Grand Slam of the year, which starts on August 24.
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Agencies Cincinnati Iga Swiatek overcame an early deficit to add the first Cincinnati Open title to her trophy cabinet on Monday evening. After falling behind 3-0 early in the first set, the six-time Grand Slam champion rallied to defeat seventh seed Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 6-4 in 1 hour and 49 minutes. 'I'm kind of shocked and super happy, so thank you for the awesome support, to the team and to my family back home,' she said. 'I don't know why I win the tournaments that we're like the last ones in terms of what I thought they were going to be. So, thank you (to my team) for forcing me to become a better player and learn how to play on all these faster surfaces.' Iga Swiatek lost the opening three games of the final in Cincinnati and was serving at 30-all when the match began to turn. It was a winner that might have caught a millimeter of the sideline, but it was enough. Swiatek won the next five games. The six-time Grand Slam champion might be the best at changing the complexion of a point with a single deep-in-the-corner, re-direction of the ball. Now, it appears, she has rediscovered the ability to recover her focus in a moment. The recent Wimbledon champion will be the No. 2 seed at next week's US Open, anchoring the bottom half of the bracket, and comes in riding more momentum than any of the other favourites. Celebrating with her team immediately after the win, Swiatek used the word 'shock' to describe winning Wimbledon and Cincinnati, tournaments she confessed later she thought she had no chance of winning. 'Before, Cincinnati was like the fastest surface we had on tour. So now it has changed a little bit -- it's [slower]. If I would have to point to tournaments that will be the hardest ones to win, it will be Wimbledon and Cincinnati.' Swiatek is the first Polish player in the Open era to win a singles title at the event and the victory came just a few days ahead of the US Opne, the final Grand Slam of the year, which starts on August 24.
