Swiatek: Same Mistakes Led to Downfall Against Eala

A tough loss to Alexandra Eala on Centre Court put six-time major champion in a contemplative mood. 

So far her Grand Slam season – a quarterfinal loss in Australia, a round of 16 defeat in Paris and a third round loss in her title defense at Wimbledon, has not met expectations. 

After the loss, she told reporters that expectations are becoming a thing of the past, actually. 

“Honestly, I don’t care anymore about the results,” she said. “I’ve been so focused on them that it’s hard to continue like that. So I’m really trying to let it go. I don’t have good results, so I’m not going to expect good results for myself because they’re just not happening. I’m not on that level yet.

“I need to work from the beginning and try to just get my tennis better.” 

When asked what went wrong against Eala, where she committed 44 unforced errors and had her serve broken five times, Swiatek was quick to credit 21-year-old Eala for her courage. 

“I felt like Alexandra was more brave in important moments,” she said. “In the tiebreak we both had many chances to close the set earlier, and it didn’t go my way. I was there to fight. It wasn’t enough. For sure I could play a little bit better, but she also played great and she used her chances and she went for it.” 

Swiatek had a pair of set points in the tiebreak, but didn’t seize the moment. At 8-7 she was a little too tentative during a long rally and ended up netting a forehand. That would prove to be her last look at a set point.

After losing the 84-minute opening set, she cut a more frustrated figure on court as the match slipped away from her in set two. 

”You need to be brave in Wimbledon to win these points,” she said. 

What really bothered Swiatek was Eala’s serve. She says the pace of the Filipina’s offerings was so slow that it threw her timing off. 

Off Speed Put Iga Off

“I think it was tougher mentally for me to accept these missed returns from the slow serves,” she said. “I got to say it’s much tougher to return a serve like that than a normal serve. 

“I wanted to be present in the second set. I made some unforced errors at the beginning. I felt like she was serving slower and slower, and it became tougher and tougher for me to return these serves.

“That, for me, was hard to accept.”

Swiatek, who falls to 1-2 against Eala, says it’s a recurring theme in their matchups. 

“I remember clearly the last two matches against her. The same mistakes happened,” she said. “I guess it’s something to work on. Even though maybe the top players play super fast and serve fast, you also need to be ready for this kind of rhythm.

“Even though it’s super slow and people might think it’s easy to return that, it’s quite the opposite. I feel like for sure [it is] something to work on.”