By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday October 6, 2020
Poland's Iga Swiatek proved unstoppable yet again as she took out qualifier Martina Trevisan to reach the Roland Garros semi-finals.
Photo Source: AP
Poland’s Iga Swiatek was supposed to be nervous about backing up her biggest career win, which came in the fourth round in Paris, when she rolled past Simona Halep in straight sets in 68 minutes.
Facing a true Cinderella story in Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan on Tuesday, one would think that the 19-year-old would feel some anxiety about the fact that she was suddenly coming in as the heavy favorite in her first Grand Slam quarter-final against the virtual world No.159.
Not Swiatek. The 19-year-old, who travels with her sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz, says that she was worried about the sudden switch in status at first, but sat down for a chat with Abramowicz and sorted things out in her mind.
“At the beginning I felt little bit more pressure because I feel like after beating Simona, I'm not underdog any more. Yeah, I talked with Daria about it. I just kept my mindset from the previous matches.”
The Pole, currently ranked 54 in the world, has yet to drop a set this year at Roland Garros, so why change anything?
“I just play tennis, you know," she said.
Swiatek’s 6-3, 6-1 victory over Trevisan started off jittery, with Swiatek losing the first two games, but the teenager was quick to respond once she got acquainted to the blustery conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier.
“It was harder being on court today because the conditions were pretty tough,” Swiatek told reporters after the contest. “It was really windy. The wind was coming from the side. You had to change your game every break. I needed some time to get used to that.”
Swiatek pulled away from 3-1 down in the opening set, winning 11 of the final 12 games to race to victory in 78 minutes, behind 20 winners and seven of nine break points saved.
Next up she’ll face another qualifier in Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska. The 23-year-old world No.131 stunned Elina Svitolina on Tuesday, 6-2, 6-4.
It has been an impressive display by Swiatek in multiple disciplines. She’s also qualified for the quarterfinals of the double draw with American Nicole Melichar.