By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday May 16, 2021
Karolina Pliskova could only manage 13 points against the blistering game of Iga Swiatek in Sunday’s Rome final. Afterwards the Czech was quick to explain that Sunday was not her day, but she also had plenty of praise for the game of her 19-year-old adversary.
“I think she really played great,” Pliskova said. “You know, she didn't give me anything.”
Pliskova had game points once in each set, but even then she was unable to cope with the scintillating shotmaking of Swiatek, who improves to 22-5 on clay in her career.
“I think she really made it extremely difficult for me to do any point and just to play, like, anything from my game,” Pliskova said. “She was playing super fast. I thought she was just going for it. I think she had amazing day and I had horrible day.”
What Makes Swiatek So Special?
Spin, placement, serve—you name it—Swiatek does it all quite well.
“No matter how fast I played, I think I had a couple, just a couple, couple of good shots, and I think she can just redirect so well and she can play even faster, and especially on clay,” Pliskova said. “Because she has so much spin, I think it's super tough to do something from it.
“I think especially today she had amazing placement of the ball. … Everything was super deep and just like close to the lines. She was serving quite big. I mean, she has a good serve overall. I think overall she didn't really miss anything today.”
The 13 points dropped is the fewest points lost in a completed WTA final at the Premier 5, Premier Mandatory, WTA 1000 level, according to the WTA.
Pliskova says it will be tough to erase the memory of this loss and remember the fact that she played brilliantly in Rome, reaching the final for a third consecutive time. That is her challenge in the coming weeks.
“It's super tough to be like positive right now, but I guess I cannot just like forget, because of those 46 minutes, everything what I did this week,” she said.