By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday, July 2, 2022
Iga Swiatek’s 37-match winning streak came to a halt on Wimbledon’s grass, and after falling to Alizé Cornet in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, the Pole explained the difficulties she faced while playing on grass this year.
“The thing that I changed this season is I started being more and more aggressive," she said. "It was really comfortable for me to have the initiative and be proactive. But here I couldn't control the ball. So I needed to slow down a little bit.
“I was kind of pushing the ball, which sometimes was actually okay. I played like that since 0-3 in first. But then in second set, I kind of made few attempts to speed up again, and didn't work out. I didn't come back to being solid. When you play aggressively and you suddenly change the way you play, it's not easy to keep that - I got a little bit confused.”
Swiatek says she can’t even be hard on herself, and admitted that she never really found her groove on grass this year, even in practice.
“I know how I felt when I was practicing,” she said. “Let's just say that I didn't feel like I'm in a best shape. So I'm kind of aware that this could happen. Maybe it's not the right attitude to have, but it is like it is.
“I tried many things to feel better on court, on grass court, but it didn't really work out. That's why I'm not even hard on myself because, like, it's kind of logic that if I couldn't find it even on practices, I'm not going to find it on a match.”
There's plenty to be proud of for Swiatek, regardless of her defeat.
Despite the loss she still managed to tie Martina Hingis for the longest winning streak on the WTA Tour since 1990, and won her second major, just last month at Roland-Garros. In total Swiatek racked up six titles and increased her lead on top of the rankings to over 4,000 points during her momentous streak.
As for playing on the grass, there's plenty of time for the 21-year-old to master it.
Swiatek seemed lost at the conclusion of her loss, and confirmed as much to reporters on Saturday.
“On grass court everything happens so quickly,” she said. “I can't just use my topspin and put back these balls and just run the point and hope being solid, sometimes pushing the ball, is going to give the right effect.
“So here I didn't have any idea. I didn't tank it, but I just didn't know what to do. Yeah, I was just kind of I hope that it's going to go in, but I did many mistakes. I didn't even want to get angry again because I was kind of frustrated during my practice week and in second round. I didn't think it's going to help me."