By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday, September 10, 2022
Flushing Meadows, NY—Iga Swiatek was struggling mightily on the hard courts this summer, not quite feeling the ball on the hard courts, and in need of confidence and belief to face the biggest challenges that lurked at the US Open.
So what did she do? She took her time.
“For sure I needed more time,” after claiming her third Grand Slam title on Saturday in New York “That's why Toronto and Cincinnati didn't work probably.”
Since leaving for the US Open, after going 2-2 at Toronto and Cincinnati, losing in the round of 16 both times, Swiatek has dedicated herself to making technical changes to her game so she can thrive–or at least survive–on the faster playing surfaces and with the faster playing ball in New York.
A better way to say it? She survived to thrive.
The Pole rallied from a set down twice in week two, against Jule Niemeier and Aryna Sabalenka, and showed up on Sunday in the final to do what she does best: dominate.
Swiatek was in stellar form on Sunday against fifth-seeded Jabeur, as she earned the 6-2, 7-6(5) victory to stretch her winning streak in finals and against the Top-10 to ten matches.
Swiatek says she finally felt free on Saturday, because all the hard work she had done during the fortnight allowed her to stop thinking about the technical elements of her tennis and just let it fly.
“I didn't need to think about this technical stuff at the end because I did it for already four weeks, so it kind of got a little bit more natural and I used more intuition,” she said. “That was the thing that actually let me be more free.”