By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday March 19, 2022
Maria Sakkari faced Iga Swiatek three times in 2021, winning all three matches and claiming all six sets the pair contested.
But Swiatek changed her coach - and her tactics - in 2022 and swept past Sakkari in their only meeting of 2022, at Doha last month.
Ahead of their blockbuster final on Sunday at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Sakkari admits that she was surprised by the aggressive way that the Pole played against her in Doha, where she notched a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the semifinals.
“I think we will both go out and try and play very aggressive because this is how tennis is right now and women's tennis, in general,” Sakkari told reporters after her three-set victory over defending champion on Friday night at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Just minutes after locking up a spot in her biggest career final, Sakkari wasn’t ready to talk tactics.
“I just haven't really thought about the tactic yet because it's too early and too soon,” she said. “It's something that I want to just start thinking from tomorrow because she has changed her game. She's not the Iga that was a year ago. She has been playing very, very aggressive and I was actually very surprised with that change when I played her in Doha. So I'll have to come up with a good plan with my team.”
Swiatek has won ten consecutive matches and jumped out to a 19-3 record in 2022. She started working with Agnieszka Radwanska’s former coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, and taken charge of her matches with forceful tactics.
Swiatek admits that playing more aggressively can be challenging. She’s pleased that she is getting better at decision making, picking her spots to be aggressive, rather than just hitting out on all points.
“I'm pretty glad that I'm also good at balancing the aggression, the control, you know, because that's I think that's the most important thing in tennis because really we are super strong and we can hit really hard, but we got to choose the right moments,” she said. “And earlier I didn't feel like I was choosing the right moments, but I think it also comes with a little bit of experience. So, yeah, it feels better and it feels like I have more options and more skills.”