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Iga Swiatek fought past a slow start and an inspired opponent in her second-round encounter at the 2021 US Open on Thursday.
Pitted against France's Fiona Ferro, the Pole came back strongly after going a set and down and looking on the verge of tears. Swiatek eventually prevailed over her opponent in a grueling three-set affair, winning 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-0 after 2 hours and 2 minutes of play.
At her post-match press conference, Iga Swiatek spoke about feeling "tight" in the early stages of the encounter. Drawing parallels to her match against Barbora Krejckiova at Rome earlier this year where she scored a similar comeback win, the youngster claimed she was happy to have been able to "change tactics" and walk away with a win.
"Well, yeah, for sure it was a tough match," Swiatek said. "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. In second set, I loosened up a little bit, kind of changed tactics."
"It was a similar match, in my mind, it was a similar match in Rome against Krejcikova," she added. "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."
The 20-year-old also claimed she had added pressure by virtue of being the higher-ranked opponent on such a big stage. Swiatek acknowledged that she was still learning to adjust to her newfound success, and that she felt it was normal for young players to go through this process.
"Usually on Grand Slams it was easier for me because I was just physically and tennis-wise, I was super prepared and that was helping me," Swiatek said. "Here I am also prepared, but I feel like the pressure is bigger because of the ranking and everything that I have been going through, you know."
"Yeah, it's just hard to, like, describe it," she added. "But I think it's kind of usual of what players have after winning few tournaments for the first time."
"Once as a junior I read a book until 2 am and lost a match next day, so that was pretty stupid" - Iga Swiatek
During the press conference, Iga Swiatek also spoke about her interest in reading. On being asked about the things that she does to take her mind off tennis, the 20-year-old highlighted her passion for books.
Swiatek revealed that once as a junior, she read a book till 2 am - before going on to lose her match the next day. The Pole recalled how as a teenager, while others went to parties, she spent her time reading books.
"I mean, once when I was a junior I had a situation when I couldn't stop reading the book, so I read until like 2 am, and I lost the match next day. So that was pretty stupid," Swiatek said. "But I was 16, so, you know, other people go to parties and I just read a book until 2 am."
Iga Swiatek is scheduled to take on Estonia's 28th seed Anett Kontaveit in another tough third-round encounter, which will take place on Saturday.
