By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday September 2, 2021
Iga Swiatek won from a set down for the fourth time at a Grand Slam on Thursday, battling past Fiona Ferro of France, 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-0 to set a third-round encounter with Anett Kontaveit of Estonia.
But the Pole, the 2020 Roland Garros champion and the No.7 seed in New York, was not pleased with the way she handled the pressure on Day 4.
“For sure it was a tough match,” she told reporters. “I think I didn't start it properly, because I felt like I couldn't properly feel my legs. But it's not the first time, so I'm trying to work on that.”
Swiatek, who is into the third round for the second consecutive year in New York, says she felt better in the second set but never really was able to find her aggressive game and mindset against Ferro.
“In second set, I loosened up a little bit, kind of changed tactics,” she said, comparing it to her win against Barbora Krejcikova at Rome this spring. “It was a similar match, in my mind, it was a similar match in Rome against Krejcikova. It was a similar situation. And it's always tough for me to use these kind of solutions when I'm just trying to push that ball and just give it back, because I usually want to, I don't know, lead or attack or just build the rally.
“This time I felt like I'm pretty tight, so it's the only chance for me to win points.”
Looking ahead to facing Kontaveit, Swiatek says she hopes she can trick her mind into believing she is the underdog, because she knows it will be easier to play loose if she believes it.
“I'm trying to trick my mind all the time, so, yeah, I mean, it's hard,” she said. “That's why I'm like kind of struggling on court, but yeah, Anett is playing great. I know that. I don't have such a strong control over my mind to actually be sure that I'm going to be able to do that, but I will try, because I know that then I will just be loosened up and that's the most important thing for me right now.”